With Rising Seas, America's Birthplace Could Disappear

[marmar]

(NPR) By the end of the century, the birthplace of America may be underwater.

The first successful English colony in America was at Jamestown, Va., a swampy island in the Chesapeake Bay. The colony endured for almost a century, and remnants of the place still exist. You can go there and see the ruins. You can walk where Capt. John Smith and Pocahontas walked. But Jamestown is now threatened by rising sea levels that scientists say could submerge the island by century's end.

You wouldn't know that by looking. In springtime, Jamestown is a carpet of bright new grass. There's oak and loblolly pine, and the James River lies on every horizon. There's a museum and a visitor center and a restored 17th century church.

It's also an archaeological site, one that comes with costumed "interpreters." Beneath a towering stone monument, a young woman in a woolen smock and peasant blouse greets a gaggle of tourists. .................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.npr.org/2013/05/14/178809495/with-rising-seas-americas-birthplace-could-disappear

[Daemonaquila]

1. Not a loss.

Given the history that came with the colonization of America, from cannibalism to genocide of the native population, Jamestown sinking beneath the waves is little loss.

[Bake]

2. So you say.

Losing ANY historical site is a loss. Losing Auschwitz would be a loss.

Bake