The Effect of Global Warming on The Netherlands

535 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The effects of sea level rise

On the coast of the North Sea, west of Germany and north of Belgium, sits the Netherlands. This country is best known for windmills, tulips, cheese and clogs, and for having Amsterdam as its capital. However, this country faces great risks as sea level rises. As the name may suggest, approximately half of the Netherlands lies less than one meter above sea level, and about an eighth of it actually lies below sea level, with the lowest city being at seven meters below (McKinney, 2007). Currently, a system of dams, dykes and dunes protect from flooding and storm surges, with 1-in-10,000 years protections (Butzengeiger & Horstmann, 2004). In other words, system failure would only happen once in 10,000 years. There is no telling when it will happen, or even if it will, but as sea levels rise due to global warming, the requirements for 1-in-10,000 flood protection will change, and the current system will gradually have less protection. Should the system be breached, many problems would arise, such as people being displaced from their homes, damage to infrastructure and agricultural lands, ...

Show More
Related

  • Field Notes From a Catastrophe by Elizabeth Kolbert

    1701 Words  | 4 Pages

    When she went to the Netherlands, she found that the rising sea level was expected to take up a large portion of the country. However, in areas where there is already periodic flood, they have already started construction on amphibious home and buoyant roads.

    Read More

  • Climate Change and Global Warming

    1082 Words  | 3 Pages

    Climate Change and Global Warming cause sea levels to rise. This increase in sea levels not only causes inundation of low lying and coastal areas but also irrevocable damage to coastal environments. Globally the ocean is predicted to rise nearly 140 cm on a global scale by the year 2100 (Cooper et al. 2013); therefore this has massive implications for countries all around the world with cities (settlements etc.) based near bodies of water. When compared to the last 80 years this is an acceleration of nearly twice the rate that ...

    Read More

  • Holland Case Study

    1242 Words  | 3 Pages

    The country of the Netherlands is a place of proud and prospering people with a rich Dutch culture and beautiful cities. Holland is constantly overflowing with innovative ideas and wondrous breakthroughs in agriculture, but for many years the Netherlands has faced a growing issue that is threatening the entire coast and mainland of their country. Global warming has contributed to a consistent increase of rising sea levels. Due to the issue that a majority of the mainland in Holland is well below sea level, the Dutch government has implemented necessary plans to revise the existing costal security program to protect the country from wide scale flooding and to ensure the security of the major cities and historic sites found throughout Holland.

    Read More

  • The Threat of Global Warming May Lead to Global Cooling

    1632 Words  | 4 Pages

    With global temperatures predicted to rise two to six degrees Celsius by 2050, according to the book Global Warming The Threat of Earth’s changing climate, (Pringle 33) many people are becoming worried about rising sea levels from this warming (Pringle 25-26). This warming however, may have a larger side affect that many scien...

    Read More

  • The Potential Effects and Ramifications of Global Warming

    1386 Words  | 3 Pages

    For the first time in planet earth’s history, one of its inhabitants has acquired the power to change the global climate. By releasing the huge amounts of carbon stored in fossil fuels over millions of years, mankind has disrupted the natural carbon cycle. We have intensified the natural greenhouse effect and turned it into a planetary menace that is melting our ice caps. In his award-winning documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore (2006) states, “human activities, if unchecked in the next decade, could destroy one of the earth’s principle mechanisms for cooling itself” (p.291). The world needs to address the potentially disastrous consequences of our earth’s rapidly changing climate by acknowledging the existence of global warming and understanding its impact on the present and future generations.

    Read More

  • The Impact Of Climate Change

    1076 Words  | 3 Pages

    Climate change has been a controversial topic in the last century. When the debate has been raised about the climate change it was not certain that it is going to be serious threat to our world. In this essay the concept of climate change will be defined and how did it change during the last century. In addition, the causes and impacts of climate change will be pointed out briefly to understand the issue. This essay will be focused more in introducing some measures, which have been taken place so far on global level for example the Kyoto Protocol and on local levels as the case in United Kingdom and China, and how accurate are these solutions. Also alternative measures and actions that can help stop the climate change are going to be discussed.

    Read More

  • The Effects Of Global Climate Change

    1652 Words  | 4 Pages

    Leading to our planets slow demise, global climate change is an important issue that has sparked fascinating research on its causes, as well as its future effects. There has been significant change in weather patterns and climate over the past century. Sea levels are rising, ice caps are shrinking, and extreme unexpected disasters are occurring all over the world at an alarming rate. This means devastating outcomes for the future of planet earth, along with all of earth’s inhabitants. Earth is home to billions of people, as well as countless species. The despondent truth is that humanity is to blame for global climate change.

    Read More

  • The Impact Of Global Warming On Canada And Africa

    584 Words  | 2 Pages

    Our product, (along with our idea) will have significant impacts on the world, both in the short term and long term. For example, the global warming crisis is one that impacts everyone worldwide, no matter your area. Global warming is one of the few density-independent issues that our world faces, meaning that, unlike problems such as disease, disasters, wars, etc., the problem does not depend on how densely populated an area is. For example, if a disease breaks down in Africa, the disease will most likely be restricted to Africa and will not make its way to Canada. This is because the disease is dependent on the African population. However, global warming on the other hand is going to impact both Canada and Africa, which means that it does not depend on population.

    Read More

  • The Devastating Effects of Global Warming

    1654 Words  | 4 Pages

    What is global warming and what does it mean. Global warming is any substantial change in Earth’s climate. Global warming refers to climate change that causes an increase in the average temperature of the lower atmosphere. Global warming can have many different causes, but it is most commonly associated with human interference, specifically the release of excessive amounts of greenhouse gases. Global warming is also known as the greenhouse effects. The increase of human population has affected the world. The growth of our population has increased our use of fuel, land and manufacturing. All of these are causing an increase of emissions to go into the Earth’s atmosphere, which is causing global warming.

    Read More

  • Global Warming: A Natural Cycle

    719 Words  | 2 Pages

    The main purpose of this text is to explain that the global warming trends that we are hearing so much about these days actually are “part of a natural trend with a cycle that results in elevated climactic temperatures every 1,500 years” (Avery).

    Read More

  • The Effects of Global Warming

    671 Words  | 2 Pages

    Global Warming is a condition caused by greenhouse gases and human activities. The increased concentration of greenhouse gases due to activities such as deforestation and fossil fuel burning is causing the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans to warm up. As a result of this, global warming has some serious effects in the shape of extreme weather, species extinctions, and rising sea levels. These effects can contribute to the changes that are taking place all over the world, most of which are dangerous enough to pose a threat to the survival of life on Earth in the future.

    Read More

  • Global Warming Is A Global Issue

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the major effects of global warming is the rise of sea level due to thermal expansion of the ocean, in addition to the melting of land ice. Now there are dozens of land areas that sit well below sea level and the majority of those land areas are very well populated. At least 40 percent of the world 's population lives within 62 miles of the ocean, putting millions of lives and billions of dollars ' worth of property and infrastructure at risk. (Juliet Christian-Smith, 2011) This means if the sea level rises to the projected level of 25 meters (82 feet) half of the world will retreat back to the ocean. (Rohrer, 2007) Also rising sea levels means higher tides and storm surges riding on ever-higher seas which are more dangerous to people and coastal inf...

    Read More

  • Global Warming: A Global Crisis

    1668 Words  | 4 Pages

    Our planet has managed to survive and thrive for about 4.54 billion years. In the last 2 million years we have caused enough damage and destruction to make our world “broken” beyond repair. We will not be able to get back the world we once had. The reason behind this is global warming, specifically, the increase of the global temperature due to the burning of fossil fuels and the release of greenhouse gas emissions into our atmosphere. If we do not make the issue of global warming a priority in today`s society, our entire way of life will be at risk. There are many reasons why so many people believe global warming should be a concern. Thoroughly examined points include: scientific predictions, rising temperatures, human causes, drastic climate changes and animal adaptations. Though there are several points arguing how global warming should not be a concern, the reality of the matter is that it needs to be taken into consideration on a global scale before it is too late, as to do nothing would have devastating implications on humankind.

    Read More

  • The Harmful Effects of Global Warming

    1376 Words  | 3 Pages

    predicted that by the 22nd century global average surface temperatures would have an increase by

    Read More

  • The Negative Effects Of Global Warming And Climate Change

    1009 Words  | 3 Pages

    Carbon dioxide is an important gas that is vital for plant life. This compound is made of a carbon atom and two oxygen atoms. Only 0.0397 of the atmosphere is composed of carbon dioxide. Even though carbon dioxide only makes up a small percentage of the atmosphere, lately increases in the amount carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere have shown to cause an adverse effect on the earth. The rise in amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has caused the earth’s temperature to steadily rise. The term used to describe this effect is called global warming or climate change. Climate change is not something new. Over the past nine hundred thousand years the atmosphere has gone through extended periods of global warming and global cooling. These

    Read More

More about The Effect of Global Warming on The Netherlands

Open Document