How are rising sea levels affecting our communities?
Rising sea levels are a reality that many people either don’t believe or don’t want to believe is happening. People want to protect their investments and homes, but some of them know that the sea will eventually claim their homes and livelihoods. Those people try to believe that nothing is happening but the harsh reality is that sea levels are rising and that they are predicted to rise up to a metre or more in the next one hundred years. Some areas are more vulnerable than others and some are already feeling the pressure of having the sea bearing down on them. I live in an area that will be seriously affected by rising sea levels, along with more of my family and friends. I strongly support ideas and implementations of projects that will help protect existing buildings and infrastructure, or concentrate on building a new and improved city for a future with higher sea levels.
Local perspective: South Dunedin
South Dunedin is one of the most low lying urban areas in the Dunedin area. It is also one of the most deprived areas, with a deprivation rating of 9 or 10. Much of South Dunedin is reclaimed land, and already has a high underground water table, but a sea level rise of up to one metre could either partially or entirely flood South Dunedin Permanently. This rise is projected to occur gradually over the next 100 years.This gives local governing bodies time to plan and implement solutions within the next 100 years.Dunedins geography is also unique, the city is built in the middle of an ancient volcano that has eroded down the middle over millions of years to form a peninsula and a shallow harbour.The harbour is surrounded by hills. South Dunedin is one of the only low lying ar...
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...tp://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/9884022/NZ-unprepared-for-climate-changes>.
Munro, Bruce. "Climate change: Sink or swim." Otago Daily Times [Dunedin] 5 Apr. 2014, Saturday ed., sec. Magazine: 47. Print.
Peat, Neville. Phone interview. 7 Apr. 2014.
Church, John, Phillip Woodworth, Thorkild Aarup, and Stanley Wilson. Understanding sea-level rise and variability. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010. Print.
"Dunedin, Otago Harbour and Otago Peninsula _ aerial." Dunedin, Otago Harbour and Otago Peninsula _ aerial. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Apr. 2014. .
"Hawke's Bay Earthquake 1931 - Christchurch City Libraries." Hawke's Bay Earthquake 1931 - Christchurch City Libraries. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. .
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.
Recent studies based on satellite monitoring by NASA reveals that melting ice from both the poles has been responsible for a fifth of the global rising sea levels since 1992 (11 mm). Antarctica and Greenland are now contributing three times as much ice to sea levels as they were 20 years ago. Although the Greenland ice sheet is only about...
"global warming, climate change, earth and environment news from Scientific American." global warming, climate change, earth and environment news from Scientific American. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2013. .
Government of South Australia, 2005. Adelaide's Living Beaches. A Strategy for 2005 - 2025, December, pp. 5-27.
Haida Gwaii (the Queen Charlotte Islands) Affected by the Creation of a Haida Heritage Site & National Park Reserve in Gwaii Haanas (South Moresby). Skidegate, B.C.: Queen Charlotte Islands Museum, 1995.
Living or visiting Mt Ruapehu provides a unique landscape which has been created by this volcano. People visit the area for many reasons such as skiing, tramping, kayaking and mountain biking. These activities bring visitor to the region from all over New Zealand and the world. Mt Ruapehu is a cone volcano which is a great landscape for skiing and being on the mountain. Tourists also came to look at a ‘live, act...
The Web. 04 Feb. 2014 -. The Effects of Global Warming. National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web.
The picture above shows areas which are red in the UK and northern Europe which would be completely underwater if sea levels were to rise by five meters. It is clearly seen in the picture that a lot of coastal areas would be significantly affected. If coastal areas were to be affected, millions of people would have to be re-located causing many social and economical problems. At the rate in which global sea levels are rising 30mm/year and is set to increase and rise more, these areas highlighted in red would be underwater in approximately 160 years time due to human activity with increasing levels of CO2 in the atmosphere.
Carter, Robert M. "Global Warming: Ten Facts and Ten Myths on Climate Change." Global Research. Global Research, 9 Dec. 2009. Web. 25 June 2014. . Secondary Source
There is no longer any question that our world climate has changed (King, 2004). Over the last 100 years, "temperatures have risen by about 0.6 degrees Celsius and global sea level has risen by about 20cm" (K...
The Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC) has concluded that sea-level will continue to rise globally until the 21st century and beyond, due to changes of climate brought on by greenhouse gas emissions (Church et al., 2001). This trend in global sea-level rise will have profound effects on our coastal populations and ecosystems. Coastal wetlands are particularly vulnerable to rising sea-level because .
Steffen, W. (2013, September 27). unpacking the ipcc fifth assessment report . Retrieved from Climate Council: www.¬climatecouncil.¬org.¬au/¬wp-¬content/¬uploads/¬2013/¬10/¬CC.¬report.¬1.¬2.-pdf
New Zealand is a large island about the size of Colorado that is situated southwest of Australia, in the south Pacific. The Island is considered to belong to the volcanic “ring of fire”, that circulates the Pacific Ocean. The Island has a varied myriad of geography ranging from flat, sheep strewn plains to impressive mountains (Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, New Zealand). Along with the geography, the climate also ranges from subtropical to temperate (Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, New Zealand). The population of 4 million is mostly made up of people that claim a British ancestry, although 15% of the population classify themselves as indigenous Polynesians or Maori (Keith Jackson, “New Zealand"). More than three quarters of the population increase in the twentieth century is a result of population growth instead of immigration (Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs). The nation’s culture is also being broadened due to a resurgence of Maori culture and through globalisation. New Zealand is ruled under a Parliamentary Democracy, although it is also included as a dominion of the United Kingdom.
Rotorua is also rich in Maori culture and have many options for visitors who want to experience the full Maori welcome, they have the Mitai Maori village which offers a show about Maori myths and legends then you eat a traditional Maori meal before going into the bush to see a waka being taken down the stream and the glow worms. There are world famous geysers which are set off by an experienced guide who explains the importance of the geyser and how the geothermal parks work. There are so many ways to witness geothermal activity, they have small pools near bus stations and in the street which are fed by underground springs and you can put your hands or feet in to feel the heat. There is a park near central city which has mud pools scattered throughout the native wildlife which you can discover in your own
...’s most easily accessible active volcanoes (Méheux, et al, 2004). Port Resolution is one of the few white sand beaches in Vanuatu and this type of location is being exploited by foreign investors (2013, pers. comm., Morris). In addition, the Port Resolution Community Project is also a prototype project to establish whether similar projects can be implemented in other communities on Tanna and throughout Vanuatu to support the education of Vanuatu’s youth (2013, pers. comm., Morris). Hence, the concept behind the Port Resolution Community Project is to provide tourists with a traditional cultural experience while meeting their expectations of first-world facilities such as electricity and modern amenities. Therefore, it is vital for the project that the community remains in control of the management, the land and the generated income (2013, pers. comm., Morris).