SEA LEVEL RISE:
Climate Change Will Increase Future Risk Of High-Tide Flooding on U.S. Coasts
Presenter: Dr. William Sweet, NOAA Oceanographer

The 2022 Sea Level Rise Technical Report provides the most up-to-date sea level rise projections available for all U.S. states and territories. Sea level along the U.S. coastline is projected to rise, on average, 10 – 12 inches in the next 30 years, which will be as much as the rise measured over the last 100 years. This will create a profound shift in coastal flooding over the next 30 years by causing tide and storm surge heights to increase and reach further inland. By 2050, “moderate” (typically damaging) flooding is expected to occur, on average, more than 10 times as often as it does today. About 2 feet of sea level rise along the U.S. coastline is increasingly likely between 2020 and 2100 because of emissions to date. Failing to curb future emission s could cause an additional 1.5 – 5 feet of rise for a total of 3.5 – 7 feet by the end of this century.

During our April 21, 2022 special PEC workshop, Dr. Sweet discussed the results of the report, as well as implications for coastal communities of the United States.  The workshop recording has been posted on the PEC YouTube Channel and is now available for viewing and sharing.

RECORDING AVAILABLE HERE

UPCOMING BOOK DISCUSSION:

THE WATER WILL COME
Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaning of the Civilized World
By Jeff Goodell

We will be reading this book and holding discussions that will hopefully lead to so practical applications on how ministry will be for Tropical Florida.  Buy your book today, and start diving into the information.

Discussion Schedule: TBD

By century’s end, hundreds of millions of people will be retreating from the world’s shores as our coasts become inundated and our landscapes transformed. From island nations to the world’s major cities, coastal regions will disappear. Engineering projects to hold back the water are bold and may buy some time. Yet, despite international efforts and tireless research, there is no permanent solution – no barriers to erect or walls to build – that will protect us in the end from the drowning of the world as we know it.

The Water Will Come is the definitive account of the coming water, why and how this will happen, and what it will all mean. As he travels across 12 countries and reports from the front lines, acclaimed journalist Jeff Goodell employs fact, science, and first-person, on-the-ground journalism to show vivid scenes from what already is becoming a water world.