Climate change proposal - Assignment Example

Climate Change Proposal Option 3: Newspaper Article Option 3: Newspaper Article The Future Effect of Climate Change of Sea Levels In an article published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) entitled “Climate Variability and Change” (2008) on potential effects of climate change on the global sea level, it was revealed that “The Coxe Glacier in Harriman Fjord, Prince William Sound, Alaska, has been retreating for more than 100 years… 98 percent of the glaciers in Alaska that terminate at an elevation below 1,000 meters are retreating, thinning, or stagnating.

Changes in the cryosphere (Earth’s frozen regions) may reduce water supply in mountainous areas and ultimately cause an increase in global sea level” (U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), 2008). This information on sea-level rise (SLR) was likewise corroborated by authors Gillette and Hamilton (2011) whose article disclosed that “SLR is a major concern for populations living in low-lying coastal regions (about 25% of humans), because it will give rise to inundation (both temporary and permanent flooding), wetland loss, shoreline erosion, and saltwater intrusion into surface freshwater bodies and aquifers, and it will raise water tables” (p. 25). These authors likewise indicated that the number of people to be affected by a uniform one-meter rise in sea level is approximately 145,000,000, where more than 105 million would come from Asia; followed by Europe (approximately 20 million); Latin America, 18 million; Africa, 15 million; North America, 12 million; and Australia, about 5 million (Gillette & Hamilton, 2011).

The sea-level rise assessment, shown in Figure 1 below, shows the impact of SLR in identified local areas. In this regard, given the significance of the issue, those people identified to be accurately affected by the SLR should be slowly relocated and resettled to higher areas and locations through integrated efforts of the government agencies. These efforts were deemed “extremely costly process that could have a negative effect on the economies of many countries” (Gillette & Hamilton, 2011, p. 30); but lives are universally acknowledged as of prime importance and therefore, strategic measures must be instituted at the earliest possible time.

Figure 1: Sea-level rise assessmentSource: USGS map locator— http://store.usgs.gov/b2c_usgs/usgs/ maplocator/%28ctype=areaDetails&xcm=r3standardpitrex_prd&carea=%24ROOT&layout=6_1_61_75&uiarea=2%29/.do; cited in Gillette & Hamilton, 2011, p. 30ReferencesGillette, B., & Hamilton, C. (2011, March). Flooded! An Investigation of Sea-Level Rise in a Changing Climate. Retrieved May 26, 2012, from www.cresis.ku.edu: https://www.cresis.ku.edu/sites/default/files/publications/Gillette-Hamilton-Reprint.pdfU.S.

Geological Survey (USGS). (2008, April). Climate Variability and Change. Retrieved May 26, 2012, from pubs.usgs.gov: http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2007/3108/fs2007-3108.pdfUSGS map locator—Retrieved May 26, 2012, fromhttp://store.usgs.gov/b2c_usgs/usgs/maplocator/%28ctype=areaDetails&xcm=r3standardpitrex_prd&carea=%24ROOT&layout=6_1_61_75&uiarea=2%29/.do