The ocean will be 3 feet higher by the end of the century (at an absolute minimum). This rise will make most barrier islands uninhabitable, result in inundation of the world’s deltas and make low-lying coastal zones like south Florida increasingly challenging to inhabit.
The 2017 Atlantic hurricane season and subsequent record-breaking Houston flooding was only the beginning. Flooding will get even worse in coastal areas as the regular pattern of high tides & king tides is pushed to record heights, and as the groundwater levels rise ever higher.
Here's what you must understand about flooding: it's not the same thing as sea level rise.

Storm surges or extreme high-tide events are temporary. Sea level rise is essentially permanent from a human’s perspective: It will not recede for at least a thousand years.
Adapting to climate change impacts can follow a managed retreat process somewhere between the extremes of relocation vs. keeping communities in current locations.

These types of programs would be most humane and fiscally wise, despite potentially being politically unpopular.
People are already retreating from the shore, household by household, with little public aid or attention. Many of them are poor or are members of ethnic minority groups, as in the Mekong Delta, Bangladesh, and rural areas of Alaska and Louisiana.
Managed retreat is not uncommon following dramatic climate events.

These events alter the cost-benefit calculation for property owners- costs of status quo become larger with rebuilding/repair, while benefits of remaining stay the diminish as ppl reassess their risk tolerance.
It is time to collectively raise our voices in support of programs for managed retreat from the coastlines — prioritizing communities most at risk.
We must demand that congressional leadership addresses the impending risks of coastal living. Representatives from the most vulnerable coastal communities need to act while the process is still manageable.
The time for forced retreat will come faster than we think. Starting the discussion, identifying key leadership and obtaining broader support for managed retreat must start now.

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More from @swetac

2 Jan
Climate change exacerbates water scarcity.

To students seeking a field of study, activists looking to organize your community, or citizens who just want to make a difference, here's my case for WATER SCARCITY. /thread
Water is the most extracted natural resource on Earth, and the one natural resource for which there is no substitute.

Agriculture uses 70% of the earth’s water, and we must adjust to ensure water availability for consumption, the environment, & food production. 2/
Nearly half of the world’s population already lives in water stressed areas, and tensions are increasing over this shared resource.

Lack of sufficient availability to meet regional water needs impacts all aspects of daily life, supply chains, and community resiliency. 3/
Read 4 tweets
1 Jan
A majority of Americans say the government is not doing enough to protect the climate and environment... they're correct.

This decade is critical in addressing the climate crisis, so the Biden-Harris Administration must take bold steps to get us on track.
First and foremost, America must rejoin the Paris Agreement and show global leadership on mitigating the impact of climate change.
U.N. consensus says warming must max out at 1.5 degrees Celsius before the end of the century. This requires net-neutral carbon emissions by 2050.

A crucial mile marker is halving all global carbon emissions by 2030. This must be included in any government action.
Read 4 tweets
31 Dec 20
This #NewYear we must get serious about climate change. A big obstacle: our brains.

Current risks are vastly different from our ancestors, but our brains are wired the same. Knowing the science behind decision-making helps us better talk about climate threats & spark action. 1/
I’ve dedicated my career to understanding what factors influence our perceptions of risk & shape behavioral outcomes, especially around climate action.

We clearly do not judge risks accurately. Let’s try this example. What is more likely to kill you:
Ppl often say shark attacks even though plane parts are 30x more likely to kill us. Attacks are more sensational/easier to recall.

Brains react in certain ways to risks around us, rapidly scanning environmental cues (e.g. snake’s stance) with subliminal and automated processing.
Read 12 tweets
30 Dec 20
I'm a risk and behavioral scientist. I assess threats related to pandemics, food scarcity, over-population, and climate change.

Here's what we're not talking about enough: the frequency of global pandemics will only accelerate as climate change gets worse. /thread
As the planet heats up and human population grows, we can anticipate further habitat encroachment and destruction. This will lead to more interaction with exotic wild animals like bats, porcupines, snakes... all of this increases the risk of disease to emerge. 2/6
We don't even fully understand the threats awaiting us in permafrost soils that have been frozen for thousands of years and are now thawing; untold viruses and bacteria locked in the ice are re-emerging. We must treat pandemics and climate change as interconnected threats. 3/6
Read 7 tweets

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