Rob Young (2)

A shortish (200 pages) look at the problem of rising sea levels. It raised a lot of interesting points that I hadn't thought of. The causes and scope of rising sea levels were covered well, but the authors barely touched on the consequences for large urban areas like New York, Tokyo, and Singapore. They strongly advocate "strategic relocation of infrastructure" (moving inland), instead of barriers and beach replenishment, which are extremely expensive and resource intensive, are not sustainable, and cause more problems in the surrounding areas.… (mehr)

The Rising Sea distinguishes itself amid the recent outpouring of climate change books with its tight focus, which is on the human consequences as oceans levels climb. Geologists Pilkey and Young forecast an "inevitable" rise in the global sea level of as much as 7 feet over the next 100 years.

Careful descriptions throughout the book of how rising seas are likely to affect particular locales give the predictions a human dimension and illustrate some of the attendant threats that will have to be considered, among them shoreline retreat, salinization of water supplies, and storm surges that could force the abandonment of entire island nations, such as the Maldives.… (mehr)