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.

First we nuked their islands and then we took control of the whole region. In exchange, Micronesians can move to the U.S. without restriction. And they are coming  — by the tens of thousands — for health care, education and jobs.