The Rising Sea

When thinking about the environment, there are a few things that come to mind right away.  One of those things is climate change and how it is impacting us today.  For quite sometime now the sea levels have been rising.  Now I want you guys to understand that there are already places around the world that are being taken over by the ocean's water.  Since glaciers are melting this is causing the sea levels to rise and the water is getting warmer which is causing a reaction in the water known as thermal expansion.  Thermal expansion is causing the ocean to swell.  To give you a picture of what is happening, the sea levels are rising at a rate of approximately 0.07 inches per year and this rate is accelerating.  If all of the glaciers in the world were to melt, the sea levels could rise up to more than 200 feet.  Scary thought right?

There are cities around the world that have been dealing with the affects of the rising sea first hand.  One place that comes to mind is the Mekong Delta which is located in Vietnam, generations of rice farmers have had to look to providing for their families through other means.  Since the rising saltwater has gotten into their rice crops, they have had to turn to shrimp farming instead.  The ground is just too salty to continue to be able to do what generations of their family have done.  Even here in the US we are seeing an impact, certain parts in Florida have had their freshwater sources contaminated by ocean water.  When this happens it is essentially contaminating the water, rendering it useless with what it was intended to be used for.

Though this process may seem like a slow one, it is still impacting us now and will be worse for future generations.  By being aware of the issues that impact our environment and what make climate change worse, we can make an change.  Look online for multiple ways to help reduce your carbon footprint, but at this link it has some info as well: How you can stop global warming.  Together we can help slow the rising sea levels.