NewsTracker Answers for week of Nov. 13, 2023

Q: Australia has a new treaty to guarantee the military security of the tiny Pacific island nation of Tuvalu, help protect it from climate change, and boost migration from its low-lying islands which are very vulnerable to rising ocean levels. Where is Australia?

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Q: More than 11,000 people live on nine Tuvalu islands totaling less than 10 square miles – the fourth smallest nation in the world. Six of the islands are ring-shaped and enclose lagoons. Islands of this type are called ...

A. Atolls

B. Barriers

C. Eyots

D. Reefs

A. Atolls are coral rings found in warm seas where the corals can develop. Most of the world’s approximately 440 atolls are in the tropical and subtropical areas of the Pacific Ocean. Tuvalu also has three reef islands. The highest point on Tuvalu’s islands is only 15 feet above sea level.

Q: Migration to Australia is limited to 280 Tuvalu residents a year to avoid a “brain drain” of its skilled citizens. How much of Australia’s current population is foreign-born?

A. Less than 2%

B. Nearly 10%

C. More than 25%

D. About 33%

C. While more than a quarter of Australia’s population was born overseas, it has one of the world’s strictest regimes for undocumented migrants. Its navy regularly tows away migrant boats. However, Tuvalu’s legal migrants will be able to access Australian education, health, and key income and family support upon arrival.

Q: Tuvalu’s leaders say the people want to remain on their islands as long as possible, but it is feared that the nation will be the first to disappear because of climate change. If migration remains limited to 280 people a year, about how long would it take for all of Tuvalu’s people to migrate?

A. 20 years

B. 40 years

C. 60 years

D. 80 years

B. With Australia’s help, Tuvalu hopes to increase its land mass by six percent and create more space for housing and other essential services to enable “people to remain living in Tuvalu in the face of sea level rise.” Still, daily flooding is expected to cover much of Tuvalu’s land area by 2050.

Q: Tuvalu lies about halfway between Australia and Hawaii. It is in which subregion of the Pacific Ocean?

A. Australasia

B. Melanesia

C. Micronesia

D. Polynesia

D. Tuvalu is in Polynesia, a roughly triangular area of the Pacific with Hawaii at its northern point, Easter Island at its southeastern point, and New Zealand at its southwestern point. The indigenous people of Polynesia's approximately 1,000 islands have related languages, cultural practices, and traditional beliefs.