Compared with Japanese, Hawaiians and whites, they suffer cancer, substance abuse and cardiac and infectious diseases at earlier ages

The Micronesian diaspora has spread out across the country, but many Americans still don’t realize who their new neighbors are.

The U.S. has been funneling billions of dollars to Micronesian nations since 1986. That money is very likely going to dry up in just eight years. Then what?

Rising tides and changing ecosystems are destroying the subsistence lifestyle on many islands in Micronesia. If disease and a sinking economy don’t drive residents away, global warming just might.

Diabetes and cancer are rampant throughout Micronesia, largely thanks to the legacy of nuclear tests and Western culture. But most islands lack adequate medical facilities, making migration a necessity.

This “nuclear nomad” just wants to go home. Except home is a contaminated atoll 2,000 miles away.

Most Americans have never even heard of the Compact of Free Association, but that may change as federal aid runs out, raising urgent questions about our moral, financial and legal responsibility to Micronesians.