That quote is so poignant and to the point about Rising Sea-levels along our coasts especially the East Coast. You may have seen FishOutofWaterUnfollow's post from earlier this week:FishOutofWaterUnfollow's post from earlier this week: USGS: East Coast Sea Level Rise Accelerating, Gulf Stream Weakening
The CBS Evening ran this story tonight.
Fast-rising sea levels hit Atlantic coast hardest
By Jim Axelrod
(CBS News) JERSEY CITY, N.J. - Forget the heat -- the East Coast could be facing an even bigger environmental problem in the years to come, according to a study this week by the U.S. Geological Survey: rising waters.
In coastal Norfolk, Va., Ed and Julie Guyton hate to think about the constant threat of flooding they face.
Since 1990, sea levels have gone up about two inches around the world. But in Norfolk, it's more than double that: 4.8 inches.
It's scary, it's petrifying. Are you kidding?" Guyton said. "You can't think about it."
New York City's Office of Emergency Management predicts sea levels two to five inches higher in the next decade; seven to 12 inches higher by the 2050's; and up to nearly 2 feet higher by the 2080s.
TWO FEET HIGHER BY 2080?! That will bring some very drastic changes along our coasts to both our built environment and the natural environment.
The best guess is rising sea levels could cost the major cities on the coast at least $300 billion by 2050.
$300 billion may even be enough to open the eyes of some sleepwalking conservative climate deniers. Maybe I'm being too hopeful where they're concerned.
Dr. James Hansen says a multi-meter sea level rise is possible this century
Flood risk grows as ground slumps
Sea level rise is "non-linear", he explains, in that it doesn't occur at the same rate, year after year. Rather, it can accelerate rapidly if tipping points are reached.
Hansen says a multi-metre sea level rise is possible this century if greenhouse gas emissions, caused by things such as coal-fired power plants, vehicle engines and agriculture, are not reduced.
That might eventually see a return to a hotter world that occurred more than 30 million years ago. It had no ice sheets and the sea level was 75 metres higher.
"In my opinion, there's no way that the West Antarctic ice sheet could be stable for a full century, if we follow business as usual," Hansen says.
"It's going to cause summer melt on the surface of parts of the West Antarctic ice sheet and it's going to melt the ice shelves."
Also see:
New satellite survey of Antarctica shows Ice Shelves being melted by warming sea water below
For me personally a rising Sea Level is very ominous. I explain why in this 2009 diary.
My Solar Home may be sitting on a Future Beach
Is it hot were you are today, with many places across the country forecast to top 100 F? The thought that someday our decedents may wish for summer days as cool as these is profoundly disturbing.