Melting ice sheets and warming oceans are causing the seas to rise. By
the end of this century, hundreds of millions of people living at low
elevations along coasts will be forced to retreat to higher and safer
ground. Because of sea-level rise, major storms will inundate areas
farther inland and will lay waste to critical infrastructure, such as
water-treatment and energy facilities, creating vast, irreversible
pollution by decimating landfills and toxic-waste sites. This
big-picture, policy-oriented book explains in gripping terms what rising
oceans will do to coastal cities and the drastic actions we must take
now to remove vulnerable populations.
The authors detail specific threats faced by Miami, New Orleans, New
York, and Amsterdam. Aware of the overwhelming social, political, and
economic challenges that would accompany effective action, they consider
the burden to the taxpayer and the logistics of moving landmarks and
infrastructure, including toxic-waste sites. They also show readers the
alternative: thousands of environmental refugees, with no legitimate
means to regain what they have lost. The authors conclude with effective
approaches for addressing climate-change denialism and powerful
arguments for reforming U.S. federal coastal management policies.