8 Cities That Global Warming Will Turn Into Great SCUBA Diving Spots

Impact

Countries, including the U.S., have not done enough to help guard against Global climate change and we are going to pay the price. In a recent study published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the lack of action taken to curb climate change will undoubtedly cause sea levels to rise anywhere from 8 inches to 7 feet within 100 years. The lead author of the report, Anders Levermann, said "We expect sea level rise of two meters of each degree of global warming that we cause."

Recently, the journal Nature Climate Change reported that by the end of the century, there will be an average 2 degree Centigrade temperature increase, which could cause sea levels to rise almost 15 feet within 2,000 years. The result would be catastrophic. The flooding would make most coastal cities uninhabitable due to the damage. New simulations conducted at the University of Michigan have helped scientists understand what is causing sheets of ice along the Antarctic and Greenland coasts to break off and fall into the ocean. According to the original author of the paper, Jeremy Bassis, "If this starts to happen and we're right, we might be closer to the higher end of sea level rise estimates for the next 100 years." Known as iceberg calving, pieces break off of the main sheet and eventually melt in warmer waters. The eventual affects will be felt in all parts of the world, including the U.S.. A report by the U.S. Geological Survey provides an insightful national assessment of coastal vulnerability to rising sea-levels.

Photo provided by USGS.

Areas that appear to be most susceptible run along the majority of the Pacific and North Eastern Coasts, down to Virgina, along the Florida Coastline, and across the Coast of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.  

Policymakers around the world must be more conscious of our climate instability and we must begin to take substantial steps in curbing these future predictions. This needs to be an international effort. It is the responsibility of all nations and citizens to protect the one Earth we all share.

Here are some of the many cities that are expected to suffer from the rise in sea levels.

1. Boston, Massachusetts

Population (2011): 625,087

2. Freeport, Texas

Population (2011): 12,317

3. Hampton, Virginia

Population (2011): 136,401

4. Honolulu, Hawaii

Population (2009): 374,658

5. New Orleans, Louisiana

Population (2011): 360,740 

6. New York City, New York

Population (2011): 8.2 million

7. Miami, Florida

Population (2011): 408,750

8. San Diego, California

Population (2011): 1.3 million