Due to increasing global temperatures, sea levels are on the rise and are becoming a more prominent issue in society. Countries all across the globe are feeling the impact of these encroaching tides. Flooding of beaches is taking its toll on the animals residing there as well as the land itself. With increasing intensity, the damage becomes more irreversible every day. The rising sea levels can have potentially devastating effects on coastal wildlife, drinking water, and the human populations along the shoreline. Many coastal species are being impacted by the rising waterline. One example is the sea turtle. Sea turtles rely on low-lying sandy beaches for breeding as these areas are optimal for underground nests. If the nest isn't flooded,
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According to a geological survey discussed by Andrea Thompson in a Live Science article, an estimated one half of the United States population depends on groundwater for drinking purposes. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change created a simulation to show how the salt can mix in to the groundwater aquifers, thus becoming brackish and no longer fit for drinking (Thompson). Many argue that desalination can solve this issue, but desalination is still in its early phases. It would be extremely costly and lead to an energy problem down the road. Mimura expands on Thompsons central claim by explaining the widespread effect globally on groundwater, specifically freshwater lenses. A fresh water lens is a “ground water pool under small islands” that serves as the islands main water source (Mimura). When sea levels rise, it reduces the size of these pools. This can leave islands in a critical state without rainfall. If the lenses are depleted, the island could then be comparable to a tropical version of the Sonoran desert. In the words of Kingsolver “a cycle of...death” before it “dries up for good” (Called …show more content…
The rising sea levels pose the threat of tidal flooding, flash flooding, and even river flooding inland (Thead). With increased flooding come stronger typhoons and tropical storms like the catastrophe described in Murakami’s “The Seventh Man.” These storms displace large numbers and completely destroy the lives of others. “Since 2008, an average of 26.4 million people per year have been displaced from their homes by disasters brought on by natural hazards.” This average includes more than 100 countries but the number could increase as more countries are surveyed by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center ( Global Estimates). One case of a mass casualty event caused by storms was the 1953 flood in Rotterdam, killing 1800 (Thead). In the seventh man, the main character states “It swallowed everything that mattered most to me”(Murakami). The narrator’s entire life from that point on was never the same. He, unlike countless others, was lucky to tell his story. Friedlander, from the Cornell Chronicle, estimates that as many as 2 billion people could be displaced or harmed due to rising sea levels by the year 2100
According to a geological survey discussed by Andrea Thompson in a Live Science article, an estimated one half of the United States population depends on groundwater for drinking purposes. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change created a simulation to show how the salt can mix in to the groundwater aquifers, thus becoming brackish and no longer fit for drinking (Thompson). Many argue that desalination can solve this issue, but desalination is still in its early phases. It would be extremely costly and lead to an energy problem down the road. Mimura expands on Thompsons central claim by explaining the widespread effect globally on groundwater, specifically freshwater lenses. A fresh water lens is a “ground water pool under small islands” that serves as the islands main water source (Mimura). When sea levels rise, it reduces the size of these pools. This can leave islands in a critical state without rainfall. If the lenses are depleted, the island could then be comparable to a tropical version of the Sonoran desert. In the words of Kingsolver “a cycle of...death” before it “dries up for good” (Called …show more content…
The rising sea levels pose the threat of tidal flooding, flash flooding, and even river flooding inland (Thead). With increased flooding come stronger typhoons and tropical storms like the catastrophe described in Murakami’s “The Seventh Man.” These storms displace large numbers and completely destroy the lives of others. “Since 2008, an average of 26.4 million people per year have been displaced from their homes by disasters brought on by natural hazards.” This average includes more than 100 countries but the number could increase as more countries are surveyed by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center ( Global Estimates). One case of a mass casualty event caused by storms was the 1953 flood in Rotterdam, killing 1800 (Thead). In the seventh man, the main character states “It swallowed everything that mattered most to me”(Murakami). The narrator’s entire life from that point on was never the same. He, unlike countless others, was lucky to tell his story. Friedlander, from the Cornell Chronicle, estimates that as many as 2 billion people could be displaced or harmed due to rising sea levels by the year 2100