Last month, the New York Times Magazine published an in-depth look at the increasing flooding problems faced by New Jersey’s coastal cities and towns, and said that the sea level has risen 18 inches in the past century, which is twice as fast as the global average, with incidences of nuisance flooding (which is associated with high tides) more than doubling in the past 20 years.
September 15, 2021
by Gina Carola
Gina Carola is chair of the Sierra Club West Jersey Group and conservation co-chair of the Sierra Club New Jersey Chapter.
This followed closely on the heels of the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which found that global warming is accelerating, and “unless there are immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming to close to 1.5°C or even 2°C will be beyond reach.” The window of opportunity for decisive action is closing, as the long life of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere means that a certain amount of further warming is already baked into the system. Upon publication of a special report in 2018, IPCC co-chair Debra Roberts said ominously, “The next few years are probably the most important in our history.”