Rising Sea Levels
By: Sam Richards
What Is The Problem?
Rising sea levels is a problem that should not be taken lightly. To the naked eye, it may not seem like such a big deal because the levels only rise in small amounts per year, but over time it will add up and be devastating. Since 2007, the rate of sea level rising has doubled compared to all the years before.
Where in the World is Affected the Most?
Coastal cities and islands are at risk of being claimed by rising sea levels. The islands are becoming completely submerged, and the cities are flooding at an alarming rate. For example, the picture above shows Venice, Italy flooding from rising sea levels.
Causes?
The main cause is global warming. As the temperature increases, the ice caps melt and cause the levels to rise. The global warming comes from the excessive release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The graph above shows the rise in average temperature up to the 2000's.
Harms and Effects?
Cities, islands, and marine ecosystems are all harmed from the rising sea levels. As said earlier, islands will become completely submerged and cities will flood. The destruction of these coastal cities will shock the economy and make it hard to recover. Global warming causes the rise, and global warming is what kills plankton. Plankton is the basis for almost all marine ecosystem food webs. As the plankton die off, entire marine ecosystems will perish.
How Can We Help?
Steps to Take
The first step to take is to greatly reduce the amount of greenhouse gasses emitted into the atmosphere, Also, cut the emission of heat trapping gasses such as methane and particulates such as soot. Governments can impose stricter regulations on factory emissions to help the reduce the amount emitted. An easy solution that communities should try is carpooling more often. Both of these solutions are easy ways to stop the cause of rising sea levels.