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Thom's blog
Does NASA’s Data Show Doomsday for New York City?
If we don’t do something quick to stop global warming, some of the biggest cities in America could go the way of Atlantis in just a matter of decades. Sam Carana over at Arctic News has taken the time to analyze the latest data from NASA, and what’s he’s projecting from that data is startling. Sam suggests that global sea levels may rise rapidly over the next few decades; so rapidly, in fact, that we could see more than 2.5 meters of seal level rise by 2040, which is just 26 years from now.
And because, as Sam Carana points out, sea levels now look like they’re going rise exponentially - on a curve - as opposed to on a straight line, they will continue to rise even faster after 2040. To put this in perspective, here’s a picture of what the New York City metropolitan area would like with just 1.8 meters (around 6 feet) of sea level rise. As you can see, large parts of lower Manhattan and New Jersey would be underwater.
Six feet of sea level rise would also be a disaster for New York’s neighbor to the north, Boston, submerging the entire central part of that city. Miami, Florida, meanwhile, would basically turn into a giant swamp with many of its most famous neighborhoods drenched in sea water.
Of course, if we don’t take action against global warming soon, the possibility that some of America’s most famous cities could turn into manmade coral reefs will be the least of our worries. There’s a very real debate going on right now in the scientific community about whether or not industrial civilization, or even humanity itself, can survive the next couple of centuries if global climate change keeps on its current pace.
-Thom
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