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“The worsening of tidal flooding in American coastal communities is largely a consequence of greenhouse gases from human activity, and the problem will grow far worse in coming decades, scientists reported Monday.” It states that the “ocean [is rising] at the fastest rate since at least the founding of ancient Rome” and “in the absence of human emissions, the ocean surface would be rising less rapidly and might even be falling.”
Miami Beach, Charleston, S.C. and Norfolk, Va. are listed as places where “routine tidal flooding is making life miserable.”
One of the two studies cited confirmed earlier findings that with emissions proceeding at the current rate, “the ocean could rise as much as three or four feet by 2100.” And the prediction is that this could get much worse and the 22nd century “likely requiring the abandonment of many coastal cities.”
Conclusion: The Industrial Revolution, which produced huge increases in human-caused fossil fuel emissions, has caused sea levels to rise about eight inches since 1880 and global temperatures to increase about 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit. This latest forecast of sea level rise of about 3 - 4 feet by 2100 is slightly higher than the forecast of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which was 1.7 to 3.2 feet.
