The front page of ‘The Cornishman? newspaper was recently devoted to a picture of Scilly and the headline “Scilly gets that sinking feeling”. A pun, somewhat in bad taste as the content of the article is largely devoted to the prediction that large parts of Scilly will be underwater as soon as within the next century. The article, written by Joyce Channon the Chief reporter for the newspaper, reflects on the findings of a recent gathering of scientists and meteorologists in Cornwall, in which predictions were made that the climate in the south west of England would be similar to that of Southern France and the Mediterranean in as few as fifty years time. In the article, BBC whether man Bill Giles, states that large parts of low lying areas could be underwater soon due to the melting of polar ice caps. Areas such as Hugh Town and Palace Row would be example of areas that are only a few feet above sea level at high tide at the moment and would be almost certainly affected if the predictions come true. Locals have greeted the news with cautious optimism and have taken the news with a pinch of salt as it traditional here. “The value of my house would go up,” said a local on St. Marys “It would be right on the sea front if what is predicted comes true!” Others have taken the issue more seriously and said, “It’s really quite scary once you think about it, most of the kids in the school today will live to sea this happen”. The implications are drastic and frighteningly fast approaching. The mass of industry producing greenhouse gasses inflicted on the atmosphere is only now starting to take real effect and the period of furious climate change is likely to be far quicker than any ever witnessed in human history. The need for action must be heeded soon if any precaution is to be taken before it is too late.
