Saturday, June 13, 2009

700,000 addresses face being washed off map

Sydney Morning Herald (Australia): Australian climate scientists are by and large cautious people. So when they publish findings, as they did yesterday, warning that sea-level rises caused by climate change and associated storm surges will be one of the greatest impacts of a warming world, it is sobering advice.

This has huge implications for Australia, where more than 700,000 addresses are within three kilometres of the coast and sit less than six metres above sea level. And while we tend to focus on the serious impacts of sea-level rise happening from 2050, storm surges and coastal flooding will increase over the next decades, during the lifetime of most of us.

Sea-level rise conjures up Pacific Islanders and Bangladeshis in dire straits, but few Australians appreciate it will hit some of the most valuable homes in this country. The legal advice coming from the State Government is that beachfront home owners will have to bear the brunt of the risk…..

Australia's Bondi Beach in 1900

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