01-06 Sea Levels

It was 2009 and we passed a sheet of ice about 40 feet high and about ten miles long floating out to see from the Antarctic. Not hard to believe the official predictions of a rise in sea levels of 23 inches in the next 100 years.
The really big ice sheets are in Greenland and the Antarctic, but everywhere in the Arctic we have melting glaciers and ice sheets.
Lots of stories of extreme weather today sending salt water across the low-lying islands of the South Pacific that is contaminating their fresh water aquifers. These islands may be submerged in 100 years, but they will become uninhabitable before then because of the lack of fresh water.
The photo is of a forest area along the coast in North Carolina, and shows the result of soil poisoning from the salt water. It kills the trees.
Apparently about 40% of the world’s population lives along coastlines, so adapting to rising oceans is going to be a big business. And the impact of rising oceans is not felt evenly. Some parts of the world are rising faster than others. Some are already experiencing extreme weather.
Not a rich or poor issue. The photo shows rising oceans impacting the wealthy of California. But the areas I would focus on would be Bangladesh, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico.
But if you want an education on rising sea levels you have to go to the Netherlands. Ever wonder what those windmills are all about? They pump water out of low lying land into canals. Ever wonder why the farmers wear those wooden shoes? Better than rubber boots.
Most of the nation is below sea level. It is a land of canals, dams, dikes, flood gates, storm surge barriers and more.
How about cows on floating islands, and roof-top gardens. And those roof-top gardens hold and control huge amounts of water. The term for farming without soil is hydroponics.
The world experts on rising oceans and fresh water are the Dutch with over a thousand years of experience fighting rising sea levels. Their emerging client base is becoming global.