According to climate scientist Benjamin Strauss, approximately 5 feet of sea-level rise is possible based on the amount of greenhouse gasses humans have already contributed to the Earth's atmosphere.
It's within that range, which is 5 feet plus or minus. It's because the world has warmed up by about 2 degrees Fahrenheit or 1.1 Celsius already, Strauss, president and CEO at Climate Central, told Yahoo News. The nonprofit aims to educate policymakers as well as the public about climate change. It's like this: If I dropped a truckload full of ice into the middle of Phoenix, everyone would know it was going to melt. It takes time for it to melt. The same holds true for large ice sheets in Greenland, Antarctica, and other glaciers all over the globe. The thermostat was turned up. The planet has been heated by just a few degrees but it is only now that they are melting. We have this extra sea-level in the pipeline, and it is enough. I'm afraid that its difficult to see the long-term future for South Florida with the sea-level that's already in the pipe.
In 2013, a woman stands in front of Bikeman island in the Pacific island nation Kiribati. (David Gray/Reuters)
Strauss testified before Congress about the threat to American homes from sea level rise due to climate change. He noted that current estimates show that the seas will rise by 2-3 feet by the end century, and that they will continue rising over the next decade. Strauss believes that the Earth's future has been impacted by sea level rise of approximately 5 feet. This is a reason for the world to work together to stop it from growing even further.
He said that slowing down the pace of change could be a great help to ourselves.
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