Venice Isn’t Alone: 7 Sinking Cities Around the World – How Stuff Works
Many big cities sit near the ocean. They became cities in the first place because their ports facilitated trade and travel by sea.
Coastal cities all over the world are sinking — a geological process called subsidence — and it’s happening at a rate that makes scientists nervous. If these bits of land didn’t have important cities on them, it’s likely nobody would notice, or, in some cases, that they wouldn’t be sinking at all…
Before the flood: how much longer will the Thames Barrier protect London? – the Guardian
The last time the Thames broke its banks and flooded central London was on 7 January 1928, when a storm sent record water levels up the tidal river, from Greenwich and Woolwich in the east as far as Hammersmith in the west. Built on flood plains, the capital was defended only by embankments. The flood waters burst over them into Whitehall and Westminster, and rushed through crowded slums. Fourteen died and thousands were left homeless…
How First Nations Are Asserting Sovereignty Over Their Lands and Waters – the Tyee
Indigenous Marine Protected and Conserved Areas hold a key to food security and balancing ecological and economic priorities. Part one of two.
Kitasu Bay sits within the traditional territory of the Kitasoo Xai’xais First Nation and is located on the Central Coast of British Columbia. Last summer the nation declared it a protected area under their own laws, closing it to commercial harvest by non-Indigenous fishers. Their declaration invited the provincial and federal governments to work with them to develop a co-governance model, but added, “we seek no permission…”
At last, Venice’s authorities admit the risk from sea-level rise – The Art Newspaper
At a conference organised by the new Venice Sustainability Foundation in June, major public figures agreed for the first time that sea-level rise is the main problem facing the city now…
Hurricanes push heat deeper into the ocean than scientists realized, boosting long-term ocean warming, new research shows – the Conversation
Seven years ago an exceptionally strong El Niño took hold in the Pacific Ocean, triggering a cascade of damaging changes to the world’s weather. Indonesia was plunged into a deep drought that fueled exceptional wildfires, while heavy rains inundated villages and farmers’ fields in parts of the Horn of Africa. The event also helped make 2016 the planet’s hottest year on record. Now El Niño is back…
Curious Kids: If plastic comes from oil and gas, which come originally from plants, why isn’t it biodegradable? – the Conversation
Question from Neerupama, age 11, Delhi, India..
To better understand why plastics don’t biodegrade, let’s start with how plastics are made and how biodegradation works…
St. Johns County receives $59 million for coastal protection, ‘managed retreat’ – First Coast News
Other funded projects include a railroad overpass in Nocatee and erosion control in North Ponte Vedra Beach.
With Gov. Ron DeSantis putting pen to paper in signing the state’s budget for the fiscal year Thursday, St. Johns County received $59 million — the largest amount of state appropriations the county has ever received and far more than the $12.4 million it got last year…
Coastal Flooding Will Be More Extensive Sooner than Scientists Thought – Hakai Magazine
Updated, more accurate data gives a new look at the effects of sea level rise.
Around the world, communities are bracing for sea level rise: the Netherlands is stabilizing its dikes, Senegal is relocating neighborhoods, Indonesia is moving its entire capital city. These projects are hefty, expensive, and slow…
Long Story Shorts: What Causes Red Tides? – Hakai Institute
Red tides are the worst-named algal anomaly out there—they’re not always red, but these blooms of algae can be harmful to humans and other animals.