Retreat from a Rising Sea

Hard Choices in an Age of Climate Change

Orrin H Pilkey author Keith C Pilkey author Linda Pilkey-Jarvis author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Columbia University Press

Published:17th Jun '16

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Retreat from a Rising Sea cover

This big-picture, policy-oriented book explains in gripping terms what rising oceans will do to coastal cities and the drastic actions we need to take now to remove vulnerable populations. The authors detail specific threats faced by Miami, New Orleans, New York, and Amsterdam, concluding with effective approaches for addressing climate-change denialism and powerful arguments for changing U.S. federal coastal-management policies.

This big-picture, policy-oriented book explains in gripping terms what rising oceans will do to coastal cities and the drastic actions we need to take now to remove vulnerable populations. The authors detail effective approaches for addressing climate-change denialism and powerful arguments for changing U.S. federal coastal-management policies.Melting ice sheets and warming oceans are causing the seas to rise. By the end of this century, hundreds of millions of people living at low elevations along coasts will be forced to retreat to higher and safer ground. Because of sea-level rise, major storms will inundate areas farther inland and will lay waste to critical infrastructure, such as water-treatment and energy facilities, creating vast, irreversible pollution by decimating landfills and toxic-waste sites. This big-picture, policy-oriented book explains in gripping terms what rising oceans will do to coastal cities and the drastic actions we must take now to remove vulnerable populations. The authors detail specific threats faced by Miami, New Orleans, New York, and Amsterdam. Aware of the overwhelming social, political, and economic challenges that would accompany effective action, they consider the burden to the taxpayer and the logistics of moving landmarks and infrastructure, including toxic-waste sites. They also show readers the alternative: thousands of environmental refugees, with no legitimate means to regain what they have lost. The authors conclude with effective approaches for addressing climate-change denialism and powerful arguments for reforming U.S. federal coastal management policies.

Retreat from a Rising Sea is a landmark work long overdue. The book offers deep analysis, case histories, and names villains of denial. It offers visions, solutions, and historic examples of how coastal cities and communities have dealt in the past and will need to cope in the future with rising coastal risks. It is a must-read for coastal residents and policy makers alike. If this book had been written ten years ago, the world would be better off. -- Klaus Jacob, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University Earth Institute Retreat from a Rising Sea is a book that should be read by everyone concerned about our coasts. In its passion to explain the conclusion that science clearly indicates, it signals the urgency of our retreat from the coast. -- Carl Hobbs, author of The Beach Book In Retreat from a Rising Sea, the authors raise tough and crucial questions about living in coastal communities in an era of rising seas and more frequent superstorms. In highlighting the vulnerabilities of many cities and communities in the United States and around the world, they provide a sobering wake-up call for policy makers and planners-and for the billions of people on the front lines of a changing climate. -- Vicki Arroyo, executive director, Georgetown Climate Center, and professor from practice, Georgetown University Law Center This accessible, impassioned argument considers the scientific, political, and socioeconomic dimensions of climate change and fervently presses for Americans to come to terms with the disastrous changes to the world's oceans sooner rather than later. Publishers Weekly Clear and authoritative... If only our leaders would read this book. Miami Herald

ISBN: 9780231168441

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

240 pages