Rising Sea Level Threatening Coastal Areas (1 Viewer)

[mbig]

Flood Fixes Vex Coastal Areas - WSJ.com
Communities From New York to Florida Seek to Balance Storm Preparation, Costs
By ARIAN CAMPO-FLORES
Updated June 14, 2013, 6:27 p.m.

The potential for devastating storms has coastal communities scrambling to shore up protections.
Here, a post-Sandy fix-up in Singer Island, Fla.

[......]
Over the past century, the global sea level has risen about 8 inches, according to a draft climate report released earlier this year by a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration advisory committee.
Many scientists say the rate of rise is Accelerating as sea temperatures warm and ice caps melt. But some argue the rate has remained constant or is even decelerating.
The climate report projects that sea levels will climb an additional 1 to 4 feet, and possibly higher, this century. If that happens,
it could have deep implications for the 5 million U.S. residents who live in areas less than four feet above high tide,
half of whom are in Florida, according to a 2012 report by Climate Central, a research organization that aims to measure the local impact of climate change.

The issue has gained urgency in the wake of last year's superstorm Sandy, which unleashed a destructive storm surge along the Eastern seaboard that many scientists said was exacerbated by rising sea levels.
[......]

 

[sawyerloggingon]

Take a wild guess at just how long the sea level has been rising.

 

[Lord of Planar]

Time to tell Asia to put scrubbers on the coal plants.

 

[Fisher]

It would be cheaper to move or replace the buildings further inland as they are destroyed than to build surge walls along our trillion gazillion miles of coast. Either way, we are close to 1000 feet MSL so let it rise.

 

[Lord of Planar]

It would be cheaper to move or replace the buildings further inland as they are destroyed than to build surge walls along our trillion gazillion miles of coast. Either way, we are close to 1000 feet MSL so let it rise.

For centuries, people have known of such dangers. They build anyway, then like crybabies, ask for other people's money to bail them out of their mistake.

 

[MoSurveyor]

It would be cheaper to move or replace the buildings further inland as they are destroyed than to build surge walls along our trillion gazillion miles of coast. Either way, we are close to 1000 feet MSL so let it rise.

For centuries, people have known of such dangers. They build anyway, then like crybabies, ask for other people's money to bail them out of their mistake.

You two should look closer at the historical development of cities and what modern industrial & commercial requirements there are for water. But, hey, if you think there's a cheaper way of shipping than by boat I'm sure everyone would love to hear it. As it is, the ports on the Mississippi from New Orleans to Baton Rouge are by far the #1 port complex in the country. The port of Houston is a distant #2 and everything else is far behind it. Let's shut those puppies down and see what happens to the economy.

Building an industrial complex on a hillside where land is more expensive and water would have to be piped in should add a chunk to production cost so the companies you have a stake in should make the first move. I suggest you sell when they do because they'll soon go under.

If you think there's plenty of cropland to replace all the land in Tornado Alley I'm sure those farmers would rather not risk their families lives by living there and providing you & me with food.


People tend to cluster where the resources and work are, whether that's at a semi-natural port, a mine, excellent cropland or whatever doesn't matter. There's a reason they live and work in those areas despite the risks. Hell, we damn near had a war with the French over New Orleans but, luckily, their war machine was focused in Europe at that time, so they sold it to us instead and was one of the best deals we ever made.

 

[Lord of Planar]

You two should look closer at the historical development of cities and what modern industrial & commercial requirements there are for water. But, hey, if you think there's a cheaper way of shipping than by boat I'm sure everyone would love to hear it. Building an industrial complex on a hillside where land is more expensive and water would have to piped in should add a chunk to production cost so the companies you have a stake in should make the first move. I suggest you sell when they do because they'll soon go under. If you think there's plenty of cropland to replace all the land in Tornado Alley I'm sure those farmers would rather not risk their families lives by living there and providing you & me with food.

People tend to cluster where the resources and work are, whether that's at a semi-natural port, a mine, excellent cropland or whatever doesn't matter. There's a reason they live and work in those areas despite the risks.

I'm not disputing that. However, an offshore sandbar, like the city is built on in the OP hardly qualifies for what you just said.

 

[MoSurveyor]

I'm not disputing that. However, an offshore sandbar, like the city is built on in the OP hardly qualifies for what you just said.

Yet, the first thing they mention is the $20B flood protection system being proposed for New York and how the GOP is whining about the cost.

 

[Lord of Planar]

Yet, the first thing they mention is the $20B flood protection system being proposed for New York and how the GOP is whining about the cost.

Portland paid for its own seawall. Why should NY be special?

 

[MoSurveyor]

Portland paid for its own seawall. Why should NY be special?

Link?

Are you talking about the decades old one or the temporary one they have ready to assemble?

 

[Lord of Planar]

Link?

Are you talking about the decades old one or the temporary one they have ready to assemble?

The temporary one. It works!

 

[Fisher]

You two should look closer at the historical development of cities and what modern industrial & commercial requirements there are for water. But, hey, if you think there's a cheaper way of shipping than by boat I'm sure everyone would love to hear it. As it is, the ports on the Mississippi from New Orleans to Baton Rouge are by far the #1 port complex in the country. The port of Houston is a distant #2 and everything else is far behind it. Let's shut those puppies down and see what happens to the economy.

Building an industrial complex on a hillside where land is more expensive and water would have to be piped in should add a chunk to production cost so the companies you have a stake in should make the first move. I suggest you sell when they do because they'll soon go under.

If you think there's plenty of cropland to replace all the land in Tornado Alley I'm sure those farmers would rather not risk their families lives by living there and providing you & me with food.


People tend to cluster where the resources and work are, whether that's at a semi-natural port, a mine, excellent cropland or whatever doesn't matter. There's a reason they live and work in those areas despite the risks. Hell, we damn near had a war with the French over New Orleans but, luckily, their war machine was focused in Europe at that time, so they sold it to us instead and was one of the best deals we ever made.

So the boats have 12 feet further to travel when the seas rise 4 feet. No big deal. As for New Orleans, the unwillingness to restore the gulf marshlands that have eroded over time will at least spare us the problem of places like detroit as it can just be swallowed by the sea. Once all these deep water ports are complete, I suspect you will see things change.

 

[Wiseone]

Take a wild guess at just how long the sea level has been rising.

If you agree with the OP that sea levels are rising, its still a problem to be solved not ignored just because its been happening for a while

 

[ChuckBerry]

So the boats have 12 feet further to travel when the seas rise 4 feet. No big deal. As for New Orleans, the unwillingness to restore the gulf marshlands that have eroded over time will at least spare us the problem of places like detroit as it can just be swallowed by the sea. Once all these deep water ports are complete, I suspect you will see things change.

Just so. Sea levels can rise 100', does that mean boats will stop floating? Just move the port facilities a bit...

And yes, as a resident of Louisiana, I can attest to the chronic lack of vision of our leaders. Google "Mr. GO" (Mississippi River Gulf Outlet) for fascinating reading.

Baton Rouge and New Orleans face another problem even more severe than another Katrina...the Mississippi River is nothing more than a barge canal now, due to man's intervention. The river desperately wants to change course and empty into the Atchafalaya Basin. The Morganza Spillway and ORCS (Old River Control System) are the only things available to reduce pressure on the river during particularly heavy snow melt in spring from up north.

Some day, the water pressure is going to exceed even our emergency relief measures. When, not if. The river will change course. Water to Baton Rouge and New Orleans will be reduced to a trickle. The refineries in Baton Rouge will have no water to cool their operations. They cease. New Orleans will have a mud channel, not a river, and barges will have no place to go. The port closes.

 

[Your Star]

If you agree with the OP that sea levels are rising, its still a problem to be solved not ignored just because its been happening for a while

This, a problem like this needs to be fixed, not left to get worse because of politics.

 

[sawyerloggingon]

If you agree with the OP that sea levels are rising, its still a problem to be solved not ignored just because its been happening for a while

Why attempt to do something about a natural process? It has been happening since the end of the last ice age not "a while".

 

[MoSurveyor]

The temporary one. It works!

You're trying to compare a one-mile-long temporary flood wall (it's not really a sea wall if it's not subject to ocean tides and waves) to the hundreds of miles of New York coastline? Get real.

 

[sawyerloggingon]

This, a problem like this needs to be fixed, not left to get worse because of politics.

You do realize many ancient ruins are now 100 feet under the ocean and have been since well before the industrial revolution don't you? Or do you?

 

[MoSurveyor]

So the boats have 12 feet further to travel when the seas rise 4 feet. No big deal. As for New Orleans, the unwillingness to restore the gulf marshlands that have eroded over time will at least spare us the problem of places like detroit as it can just be swallowed by the sea. Once all these deep water ports are complete, I suspect you will see things change.

Having a 3:1 slope is pretty steep for most shorelines.

Do you have any experience at all even closely related to civil engineering outside of maybe making sure your yard drains?

 

[fmw]

You do realize many ancient ruins are now 100 feet under the ocean and have been since well before the industrial revolution don't you? Or do you?

Are you aware that the glaciers that were receding in Europe 15 years ago uncovered some ancient mine entrances that were swallowed up at some point by the advancing ice? They've since been covered up again by the glaciers. We get cooling and warming. We always have. We always will. I read somewhere recently that scientists think the next ice age isn't all that far away into the future. About 5000 years. Do we contribute to warming. Maybe. Maybe not. That is a political question at the moment because science hasn't answered it.

 

[MoSurveyor]

Just so. Sea levels can rise 100', does that mean boats will stop floating? Just move the port facilities a bit...

And yes, as a resident of Louisiana, I can attest to the chronic lack of vision of our leaders. Google "Mr. GO" (Mississippi River Gulf Outlet) for fascinating reading.

Baton Rouge and New Orleans face another problem even more severe than another Katrina...the Mississippi River is nothing more than a barge canal now, due to man's intervention. The river desperately wants to change course and empty into the Atchafalaya Basin. The Morganza Spillway and ORCS (Old River Control System) are the only things available to reduce pressure on the river during particularly heavy snow melt in spring from up north.

Some day, the water pressure is going to exceed even our emergency relief measures. When, not if. The river will change course. Water to Baton Rouge and New Orleans will be reduced to a trickle. The refineries in Baton Rouge will have no water to cool their operations. They cease. New Orleans will have a mud channel, not a river, and barges will have no place to go. The port closes.

If what you're saying does happen I would expect them to dredge as needed to allow ships to continue using existing port facilities in Baton Rouge. It will, of course, have no effect on New Orleans port facilities since they're pretty much at sea level.

 

[mbig]

Take a wild guess at just how long the sea level has been rising.

Take a wild guess the last time sea level rose 4 feet in a century.

As always, your posts in this section are so obtuse, they backfire on your position. I guess you're the only one who doesn't realize what an embarrassment posts such as this one are.
The Link acknowledges/cites an 8 INCH rise in the 20th C, but says it's ACCELERATING and will probably be more lik 3-4 FEET in this one.
That was the point, Not some Natural few inches.
And even the 8 Inches of the 20th C may have been Unnaturally high due to ... AGW.

Why attempt to do something about a natural process? It has been happening since the end of the last ice age not "a while".

Because even if it was still warming/melting slightly without AGW, it's doing so dramatically and dangerously now.
Same answer to same Nonsense post.

 

[mbig]

So the boats have 12 feet further to travel when the seas rise 4 feet.
No big deal.
As for New Orleans, the unwillingness to restore the gulf marshlands that have eroded over time will at least spare us the problem of places like detroit as it can just be swallowed by the sea. Once all these deep water ports are complete, I suspect you will see things change.

"No Big deal" if you are clueless about basic world geography.

...Global warming and melting glaciers and polar ice sheets are raising sea levels worldwide, leaving tens of millions of people in coastal areas and on low-lying islands vulnerable to flooding and other weather-related catastrophes.
Shanghai, altitude roughly 3 meters (10 feet) above sea level, is among Dozens of great world cities — including London, Miami, New York, New Orleans, Mumbai, Cairo, Amsterdam and Tokyo — threatened by sea levels that now are rising twice as fast as projected just a few years ago, expanding from warmth and meltwater. Estimates of the scale and timing vary, but Stefan Rahmstorf, a respected expert at Germany's Potsdam Institute, expects a 1-meter (3-foot) rise in this century and up to 5 meters (15 feet) over the next 300 years.

Cities don't have to be below sea level to be dramatically effected by sea level rise. (and even minor storms)

 

[sawyerloggingon]

Take a wild guess the last time sea level rose 4 feet in a century.

As always, your posts in this section are so obtuse, they backfire on your position. I guess you're the only one who doesn't realize what an embarrassment posts such as this one are.
The Link acknowledges/cites an 8 INCH rise in the 20th C, but says it's ACCELERATING and will probably be more lik 3-4 FEET in this one.
That was the point, Not some Natural few inches.


Because even if it was still warming/melting slightly without AGW, it's doing so dramatically and dangerously now.
Same answer to same Nonsense post.

Seems like just the other day they said the last 15 years would see a dramatic spike in temp, they were wrong. why do you believe their new sky is falling prediction?

There is also this to consider before you blow a fuse.

"Southampton researchers have estimated that sea-level rose by an average of about 1 metre per century at the end of the last Ice Age, interrupted by rapid 'jumps' during which it rose by up to 2.5 metres per century. The findings, published in Global and Planetary Change, will help unravel the responses of ocean circulation and climate to large inputs of ice-sheet meltwater to the world ocean."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101201120605.htm

 

[Baralis]

I've been hearing a lot in recent years about how our global fresh water supply is becoming strained and that fresh water supplies will become a very real problem soon. Why not start mass producing water desalinization plants? Seems like it would help both dilemmas at the same time.