Bonriki, Kiribati—Approaching Bonriki airport for a landing, the triangular coral atoll of Tarawa looks very much like the sails of the traditional boats used to travel between the islands of this South Pacific archipelago, roughly halfway between Australia and Hawaii. The long, narrow islets connected by a series of man-made causeways look especially small from the air, reinforcing the sense of fragility that defines this island nation. Composed of some 32 atolls and one raised island, spread over 1.3 million square miles, it is the only nation that straddles both sides of the equator, as well as both sides of the International Date Line. Until local law unified the time zone for the nation, it was the first to see the start of a new day as well as the last to see the end of that same day. Now, however, Kiribati’s days may be numbered, as it faces an...
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