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Flooding from Climate Change will Submerge 1700 US Cities by 2100

According to a study published at the end of July, more than 1,700 US municipalities and a quarter of Americans will be submerged under water due to climate change by 2100. Without a major reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, more than 1300 cities and towns may be under water within a decade. Even with significant emissions reductions it is already too late for many cities including Fort Lauderdale and Miami Gardens.

These are the findings of a study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Some of America's greatest cities including New York and Miami could be submerged under water before the end of the century.

As reported in the Guardian, “Even if we could just stop global emissions tomorrow on a dime, Fort Lauderdale, Miami Gardens, Hoboken, New Jersey will be under sea level,” study author and Climate Central researcher Benjamin Strauss said. "Hundreds of American cities are already locked into watery futures and we are growing that group very rapidly. We are locking in hundreds more as we continue to emit carbon into the atmosphere."

Flooding is "locked in" because even if we were able to eliminate all GHG emissions overnight a certain amount of additional warming and concomitant sea-level rise is now "baked into" the system.

The study concludes, the longer we wait to dramatically cut emissions the worse it will get.

© 2013, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Help Reader's Digest Find Canada's Greenest Towns

Reader’s Digest is holding a competition for "Canada’s Most Interesting Towns" and one of the categories is "Canada's Greenest Cities." Canadians from coast to coast are welcome to share their stories and images. To participate simply send a story and photos reviewing a town that leads the way in environmental issues and action.

Some of the accomplishments that qualify a city as "Canada's Greenest," include:

- innovative recycling schemes
- reduced carbon footprints
- great community gardens
- eco-energy programs
- nature conservation efforts
- green school curriculums

In addition to Canada's Greenest City the six other categories are: Best destination, healthiest, best cuisine, most community spirit, most artistic and most entrepreneurial.

This competition is intended to celebrate the "sites, sounds, quirky facts and fascinating folks that define the unique places we live in."

The popular magazine is looking to get as many Canadians as possible involved in the program. In their first two weeks, Reader's Digest received 160 submissions and over 19,000 votes!

Winning submissions will win a cash prize of $5,000 and an additional $5,000 for their town for a community improvement project. There are also seven prizes of $1,000 each to be won.

For complete program details, click here.

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