Rising Ocean Levels Affecting California
@DeborahDiane (40049)
Laguna Woods, California
December 9, 2017 8:18pm CST
Every few months, my friends and I walk around quaint Balboa Island. It is an adorable island in Balboa Bay, and is part of Newport Beach, CA. Home prices start at around $2.5 million, and go up to several times that. I often take photos of the Christmas and Halloween decorations, although the community is adorable even when it is not decorated.
The island is surrounded by a short sea wall and normally has a beach on the other side of the wall.
This week, however, as you can see in the photo above, the beach was completely submerged and the water reached nearly to the top of the sea wall at high tide. If ocean levels rise only a few inches, the island would be flooded. My friends and I were walking on a sidewalk which was below sea level!
If anyone doubts the effects of climate change, they only need to observe what is happening along our coastlines!
13 people like this
10 responses
@LadyDuck (457918)
• Switzerland
11 Dec 17
@DeborahDiane The Swiss glaciers are melting at record rate. The experts say that by 2090 there will be no more glaciers in Switzerland.
3 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40049)
• Laguna Woods, California
12 Dec 17
@LadyDuck - No glaciers in Switzerland? Won't that be a sad day? I remember my daughter skiing in Zermatt. Life will be so different when the glaciers melt. I won't be alive in another 70 years, but I'm sure most of my grandchildren will be. They will only know about some of the animals and activities of our generation by reading about them in history books.
3 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40049)
• Laguna Woods, California
11 Dec 17
@LadyDuck - I agree. I have heard that the ice melt is speeding up. That will have devastating consequences.
3 people like this
@sallypup (57812)
• Centralia, Washington
11 Dec 17
@DeborahDiane That would be crazy amazing in money. Makes my head spin. We're looking into buying in Western Oregon. So far we have found a couple humble places for what we can afford but there are also mobile homes that are not cheap. We will be going there next June. I hope the prices are not higher by then.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40049)
• Laguna Woods, California
12 Dec 17
@sallypup - I hope you find something you like and can afford, too. I keep hoping that housing prices will stabilize, soon. I agree that those home prices make my head spin, too. They are all crammed together on tiny lots, too. If the island starts flooding, it will be a terrible loss!
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40049)
• Laguna Woods, California
11 Dec 17
@sallypup - This is pretty shocking, and I want to make it clear that I don't live on the island, but a two-bedroom cottage without an ocean view starts at $2.5 million. A larger 3 or 4 bedroom home along the seawall starts at about $4 million. The largest homes on the island can sell for twice that, since some of them are on a double-wide lot! Can you imagine the loss if the island starts flooding regularly?
3 people like this
@changjiangzhibin89 (16531)
• China
10 Dec 17
Global warming is of concern to us all.However the problem is that it has been disputed by certain people.
2 people like this
@changjiangzhibin89 (16531)
• China
11 Dec 17
@DeborahDiane Yes,facts speak louder than eloquence.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40049)
• Laguna Woods, California
11 Dec 17
People can dispute global warming all they want. However, when I walk along a sidewalk and the water level is higher than the walkway, for the first time I remember, then I see that as a problem, so matter what some people want us to think.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40049)
• Laguna Woods, California
12 Dec 17
@changjiangzhibin89 - I agree. When people see water lapping at their feet, it will be hard to deny that the water has risen! 
2 people like this
@ptrikha_2 (45458)
• India
18 Dec 17
@DeborahDiane the unconcerned people can realize but the concerned and less concerned need to unite and put pressure on the powerful and the wealthy.
2 people like this
@ptrikha_2 (45458)
• India
24 Dec 17
@DeborahDiane Yes but this pressure ought to be as big and widespread as the pressure for developing infrastructure, safety against criminals and similar issues.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40049)
• Laguna Woods, California
12 Dec 17
@jstory07 - Unfortunately, those who care are not the ones who are currently in power. By the time those who care are in power, it will be too late to avoid the damage that will occur. I am amazed by how unconcerned some people are!
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40049)
• Laguna Woods, California
12 Dec 17
@DianneN - It has been decades since I've been in Miami or Palm Beach, but I'm sure rising sea levels are a problem for both cities. A friend of mine went to Key West last winter, before the hurricanes. She said that every day at high tide her hotel was an island. You could not leave at that time without wading through water. I have misgivings about them rebuilding some of the structures on the Keys, unless they build seawalls and more infrastructure, too.
2 people like this
@DianneN (246559)
• United States
12 Dec 17
@DeborahDiane I agree. Those Keyes need protection as does anything surrounded by water. It is such a shame, too, since living by the water is such a magnificent thing to see.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40049)
• Laguna Woods, California
13 Dec 17
@DianneN - I agree! I love the beach towns near us, and I will be very sad if they aren't protected and end up receiving severe damage from the rising water. Such a shame. We live about 4 miles from the ocean. I guess I could look at the bright side ... we could be living in ocean front property one of these days! LOL
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40049)
• Laguna Woods, California
11 Dec 17
@JudyEv - Yes, I am starting to see the effects of global warming in the coastal communities around us. I imagine that in another ten years, the problem will be even more obvious. Of course, by then, it will be too late to prevent some of the damage.
3 people like this
@JudyEv (325594)
• Rockingham, Australia
11 Dec 17
@DeborahDiane Our coasts are being affected too - as are our coral reefs.
2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40049)
• Laguna Woods, California
12 Dec 17
@JudyEv - Oh, yes. I have heard that the Great Barrier Reef is in critical danger. I'm sure other parts of your coast are experiencing problems, too. I wonder how long countries can ignore this problem, without constructing seawalls and moving people. The longer they wait, the more expensive the solutions.
2 people like this
@Aquitaine24 (11653)
• San Jose, California
21 Sep 18
During an earthquake in Japan a tsunami caused damage to boats in Santa Cruz.Probably rising sea level was a factor.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40049)
• Laguna Woods, California
21 Sep 18
@Aquitaine24 - I remember the pictures of those boats in Santa Cruz. It is a good reminder of how small our world is, and how something happening thousands of miles away can still affect us ... including melting ice caps.
1 person likes this
@PatZAnthony (14752)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
20 Dec 17
That is something that should wake-up even the serious skeptics, but it might now.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40049)
• Laguna Woods, California
20 Dec 17
I certainly hope a few people wake up and realize the effect climate change is going to have on our nation, as well as other nations around the world!
@ptrikha_2 (45458)
• India
18 Dec 17
At least all people here on mylot resolve to walk more and use less of petrol or diesel driven vehicles. And use Air-conditioners at optimum temperatures.
1 person likes this
@ptrikha_2 (45458)
• India
19 Dec 17
@Shiva49 Yes and today I violated my resolve to some extent. I was unwell, and had to take my car nearby to buy certain things. Yet normally I prefer walking or rickshaw to such nearby places- sometimes even when it is rainy, very cold or very hot.
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40049)
• Laguna Woods, California
20 Dec 17
@Shiva49 - I wish we had better public transportation here in the United States, too. There are only a few places, like New York City, where you can get by without a car.
1 person likes this
