Is it crazy to think all coastal cities are at risk of flooding

[burythehatchet]

and being inhabitable? All the cities on the gulf, the FL Keys, South Florida cities, all the barrier islands on the atlantic....what is to say that we are not in for 10 years of these killer storms?

[mattclearing]

1. Nothing really.

Seriously...the entire southeast is vulnerable...everywhere from the Chesapeake Bay to Mexico.

Better move to high ground or gtfoo Dodge.

[htuttle]

2. Bingo

Look at how many cities are 15 feet or less above sea level.

When (and it's 'when' now, not 'if') the Greenland ice sheet melts, sea levels will rise about 20 feet.

Not hard to do the math there.

[daninthemoon]

3. That's exactly the biggest problem. Coastlines are some of the

least permanent features on the planet. Add global warming to today's coastlines, icecap melting, and SanFrancisco, Manhattan, Boston, parts of Los Angeles, Seattle, San Diego , well basically all the largest population and commerce centers in the world are going under.

[acmejack]

5. 20 ft will inundate a lot of land!

There is quite a bit of territory that is less than 20 feet above sea level. I will have to try & find out what amount of land mass will disappear.

snip>
The consequences of such a massive meltdown of northern ice would be dramatic, according to the study.

• Low-lying coastal areas in Florida and Louisiana could be flooded by the sea. A 1.5 feet (50-centimeter) rise in sea level could cause the coastline to move 150 feet (45 meters) inland, resulting in substantial economic, social, and environmental impact in low-lying areas.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/11/1109_041109_polar_ice_2.html

[acmejack]

6. Here is everyhting you ever might want to know about climatic change

http://www.ipcc.ch/

[burythehatchet]

8. Great link...you mean the jury's no longer out on the issue?

I sure hope idiot boy will always be remembered for that one.

[Ready4Change]

4. No. Its rational.

If you live next to the ocean, it will eventually devour your residence.

Shorelines move. Oceans eat away at cliffs, deposit new sandbars, back and forth, ebb and flow. To think this billions of years old process will cease simply because someone built a house is arrogant.

Barrier islands are ALWAYS getting flooded and washed away. It's a wonder to me that insurance companies will offer any coverage at all for such areas. It's just a (short) matter of time.

The Keys are just waiting to be erased. So are the NC Outer Banks. So are countless numbers of other inhabited coastline areas.

The same happens inland along lake and river shores. A few years ago I saw several new houses being built along what to me was an obvious flood plain. To the developer it looked like a nice flat area to build houses with river access.

Sure enough, they've already flooded. :eyes:

[burythehatchet]

7. well at this point I breathe the thin air of Atlanta

but I'm even tempted to go further up into the north GA or TN mountains. Beter get my seeds in order.

[daninthemoon]

10. Sit tight and you'll end up with oceanfront view.

[burythehatchet]

13. at one time we used to joke about beachfront Nevada

property after the big quake, now it seems a little too realistic.

[DoYouEverWonder]

9. But if you live in a place

like I do in No Central FL, the beach will be a lot closer soon.

[Saphire]

11. I heard somewhere that 50% of the US population live within 50 miles

of the coast...

[burythehatchet]

12. that's seems reasonable considering NY, CA, TX and FL alone

then you've got the Eastern seabord and the upper NW

[hvn_nbr_2]

14. I think I heard the same about the population of the world

although I'm not so sure if the population centers of India and China are as much clustered near the ocean as they are here. (Back when I was in school taking geography classes, maps beyond North and South America and Europe showed "here be dragons." Well, okay, I exaggerate, but only a bit.)

[burythehatchet]

15. and another thing

aren't most of the liberals in this country on the coasts?