I read a troubling article in The Washington Post (link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/virginia-residents-oppose-preparations-for-climate-related-sea-level-rise/2011/12/05/gIQAVRw40O_story.html?tid=pm_pop) about communities near the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia that think that sea level rise and global warming are political issues and not scientific issues. Apparently, elements in the community do not want the land planning groups to consider the impact of sea level rise on zoning. Some citizens equate sea level rise with global warming, and since they do not believe that human activity is increasing the global temperature. However, these community activists are simply ignoring sea level data.
According to data based on ocean height measurements from satellites, as reported at http://sealevel.colorado.edu/, consensus is that sea level is rising at 2.6 to 3.5 mm/yr. In other words, since, 1992, sea level has risen about ½ meter.
(http://sealevel.colorado.edu/files/2011_rel4/sl_ns_global.png).
This is data, not politics. Ignoring the impact of sea level rise will increase risk to storms and other ocean based disasters.
This is data, not politics. Ignoring the impact of sea level rise will increase risk to storms and other ocean based disasters.
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