Letter below was submitted to the Star Ledger on 03-02-21. The Rutgers report cited in the letter is here: STAP_20191204_Sea Level Rise
Editor:
You published a very interesting article on March 1 on how Ocean City is getting wetter. A main roadway already floods 24 times a year, and Rutgers researchers project sea level rise of 1.4 feet by 2050. Unfortunately, that’s not the end of the story.
The Rutgers projection is in a report published in 2019. It contains a table of sea level rise estimates to 2150. These are categorized by probability and three global warming scenarios. The 1.4 foot rise estimate has a likelihood of 50%. Projected rises for 2100 with 50% likelihoods range from 2.8 to 3.9 feet, and for 2150 are 4.2 to 6.2 feet.
Most of us don’t worry much about life in 2150. But if we have young children or grandchildren, 2100 does not seem very far away.
We can’t stop sea level rise in our lifetimes, but we can slow it by slowing global warming. The best strategy today is a system of carbon fee and dividend (CFD), also called revenue-neutral carbon pricing. I urge your readers to ask their members of Congress to pass legislation in this session to implement CFD.
Bill Allen 03-02-21