Environmental Issues

There are many problems that are associated with climate changes. The climatic conditions in the world has become unfavorable as a consequence of climate change and scientists estimate that the problems will be more severe in the future unless the world population change their lifestyles and adopt environmental friendly lifestyles. There are increased temperatures as a result of global warming which has led to melting of the glaciers. However, the big question is is our coastlines and islands at risk due to the rising sea tides Are our coastlines faced with the threat of being submerged in the near future Are coral reefs which is the home for the most multifaceted and complicated ecosystem ever faced with destruction as a result of global warming leading to destruction of thousands of species (Kwok and Comiso, p 490).

It is clear that the current global warming has resulted into rising sea tides which is likely to cause submerging of the coastline. Scientists have confirmed that there is no doubt that the increased global warming will have adverse consequences on the coastlines all over the world. Oceanographers argue that with the current rate, most of the coastlines in the United States such as the coastlines along the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf coast will be submerged unless the situation is reversed (University of California, p 1).

Conclusions based on research has confirmed that depending on the climatic regimes and the topography of different regions along the coastlines, a combination of human activities and natural forces as a consequence of global warming may have detrimental effect on the beaches, estuaries and submerge most of the western coast and has been predicted to possibly disrupt fresh water supplies in California. Although the changes in the climatic conditions have been graduals for most part of the 20th century as a result of greenhouse gasses emissions from the industries and clearing of forests for agriculture and settlement, the changes that have been witnessed over the last one and half decades have attracted extra attention from the scientists. As a result of global warming and the El Nio storms, the water levels in the coastlines have been elevated, which is a cause for alarm (Douglas and Peltier, p 36).  

Scientists have confirmed that the sea level has been rising for millennia. Over the last sixty centuries, the sea level has been raising at the rate of five centimeter per every one hundred years. However, human activities have changed the situation and the sea levels are rising at an alarming rate. This indicates the threat our islands and coastlines are faced with as a result of global warming. It is estimated that in the 20th century, the sea level rose with up to 17 centimeters. Recent studies indicate that since the early 1990s, the sea level has been increasing at the rate of 3.1mm per year. The rising sea level is as a result of the increased volume of water in the ocean. As the temperature increases, the glaciers and ice sheets are melting (Johansen, p 45).
The increased rate at which the sea level is raising is a threat to the low lying lands and cities. It is predicted that the high sea tides will result into more frequent and powerful hurricanes which threaten our coastlines and islands. Although there are arguably natural and human causes of climate change being experienced in the world today, stricter and better environmental measures to save our islands and coastlines need to be taken.