06-21-2015, 08:24 AM
Http://cnn.com/2015/06/10/opinions/sutte...index.html
(CNN)—I'm recently back from the Marshall Islands -- one of the low-lying Pacific island
nations that literally could be wiped off the map
by climate change and rising seas. Climate change gets couched, especially by
skeptics, as an intangible, far-off issue.
But meet people who are terrified their country --everything they know -- will be drowned
beneath the waves, and you can see that this is a crisis, and one that must be addressed immediately. I'll write more soon about my time on the islands
-- and about the surprising U.S. community
where some Marshallese people already are
taking refuge from floods.
These are topics, by the way, you voted for me to explore as part of my "2 degrees" series on climate change. For now, here's a look at some of the scariest data about how much ocean levels could rise, and when.
We're talking about the future here, so
estimates vary by source, but the bottom line is
this: Our actions today will create the world
future generations will have to inhabit. I hope that's a world that includes the Marshall
Islands and Miami, Bangladesh and London.
Take a look at these facts, and please let me
know what you think in the comments.
1. Seas already are rising because of
climate change.
2. It's happening faster than
scientists expected, and the collapse
of the enormous West Antarctic Ice
Sheet now "appears unstoppable,"
according to NASA.
3. By the end of the century,
scientists expect seas to rise 0.4 to
1.2 meters (1.3 to 3.9 feet), depending
on how much we humans keep
warming the atmosphere.
4. Maybe that doesn't sound like
much -- but 147 million to 216 million
people worldwide can expect to see
their homes submerged or put at risk
for regular flooding by 2100.
5. In Bangladesh, for example, 15
million people would be at risk for
displacement if sea levels rose just 1
meter, or 3 feet. And more than 10%
of the country would be underwater.
6. Some remote, island nations also
would start disappearing -- since
many, including Kiribati, the Maldives
and the Marshall Islands, sit just
above sea level.
7. Some "climate refugees" from
these countries won't have anywhere
to go. International laws don't protect
them, so industrialized countries --
those contributing to climate change
-- won't have to let them cross their borders to seek asylum.
8. This is a financial concern as well.
Rising seas pose a serious economic
threat to the millions living in at-risk
coastal cities.
9. In terms of dollars at risk,
Guangzhou, China, in the Pearl River
Delta, is more vulnerable to sea-level
rise than any other city in the world,
according to the World Bank. Many of
the most vulnerable cities should look familiar, especially to Americans.
After Guangzhou, Miami, New York
and New Orleans are next.
10. Miami is in serious trouble. To
imagine its possible futures, play with
this map from Climate Central.
(CNN)—I'm recently back from the Marshall Islands -- one of the low-lying Pacific island
nations that literally could be wiped off the map
by climate change and rising seas. Climate change gets couched, especially by
skeptics, as an intangible, far-off issue.
But meet people who are terrified their country --everything they know -- will be drowned
beneath the waves, and you can see that this is a crisis, and one that must be addressed immediately. I'll write more soon about my time on the islands
-- and about the surprising U.S. community
where some Marshallese people already are
taking refuge from floods.
These are topics, by the way, you voted for me to explore as part of my "2 degrees" series on climate change. For now, here's a look at some of the scariest data about how much ocean levels could rise, and when.
We're talking about the future here, so
estimates vary by source, but the bottom line is
this: Our actions today will create the world
future generations will have to inhabit. I hope that's a world that includes the Marshall
Islands and Miami, Bangladesh and London.
Take a look at these facts, and please let me
know what you think in the comments.
1. Seas already are rising because of
climate change.
2. It's happening faster than
scientists expected, and the collapse
of the enormous West Antarctic Ice
Sheet now "appears unstoppable,"
according to NASA.
3. By the end of the century,
scientists expect seas to rise 0.4 to
1.2 meters (1.3 to 3.9 feet), depending
on how much we humans keep
warming the atmosphere.
4. Maybe that doesn't sound like
much -- but 147 million to 216 million
people worldwide can expect to see
their homes submerged or put at risk
for regular flooding by 2100.
5. In Bangladesh, for example, 15
million people would be at risk for
displacement if sea levels rose just 1
meter, or 3 feet. And more than 10%
of the country would be underwater.
6. Some remote, island nations also
would start disappearing -- since
many, including Kiribati, the Maldives
and the Marshall Islands, sit just
above sea level.
7. Some "climate refugees" from
these countries won't have anywhere
to go. International laws don't protect
them, so industrialized countries --
those contributing to climate change
-- won't have to let them cross their borders to seek asylum.
8. This is a financial concern as well.
Rising seas pose a serious economic
threat to the millions living in at-risk
coastal cities.
9. In terms of dollars at risk,
Guangzhou, China, in the Pearl River
Delta, is more vulnerable to sea-level
rise than any other city in the world,
according to the World Bank. Many of
the most vulnerable cities should look familiar, especially to Americans.
After Guangzhou, Miami, New York
and New Orleans are next.
10. Miami is in serious trouble. To
imagine its possible futures, play with
this map from Climate Central.