1 of 10

Water and Climate Change

By: Andrew Whittle

2 of 10

Water Temperature

  • “The temperature of the upper few metres of the ocean – has increased by approximately 0.13°C per decade over the past 100 years” - International Union for Conservation of Nature

3 of 10

Sea-Level Rise

4 of 10

Flooding and community displacement

This map shows the difference in the number of properties with substantial risk, compared to FEMA’s designation

Here is the percentage change from 2020 to 2050 in the number of properties with substantial risk

​

​

5 of 10

Flooding and community displacement: Legislation

  • “The bill was a major step toward actuarial pricing and full accounting of climate risk, ensuring that climate impact projections are factored into future calculations of flood risk.”

6 of 10

Flooding and community displacement: Cape Cod

  • “The Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) and the Cape Cod Planning Commission have identified coastal erosion, flooding, and shoreline change as the number one risk affecting the heavily populated 1,068 square kilometers that constitute Cape Cod (CZM, 2013 and Cape Cod Commission 2010)”

7 of 10

Ocean Acidification

  • Biological Impacts include
    • Pteropods
    • Shellfish
    • Corals

8 of 10

Polar Ice Caps

  • “Even if we significantly curb emissions in the coming decades, more than a third of the world’s remaining glaciers will melt before the year 2100. When it comes to sea ice, 95% of the oldest and thickest ice in the Arctic is already gone.” - WWF

9 of 10

UNFCCC

  • Reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
  • 197 Parties
  • Established Kyoto Protocol
    • Commits parties to reduce greenhouse based on the consensus that global warming is happening and that it is human made

10 of 10

Sources

Roberts, Michael D., et al. “Coastal Erosion in Cape Cod, Massachusetts: Finding Sustainable Solutions.” Scholar Works @ UMass Amherst, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 27 Apr. 2015, www.scholarworks.umass.edu/sustainableumass_studentshowcase/6/.

“Climate Change Indicators: Sea Surface Temperature.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 17 Dec. 2016, www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-sea-surface-temperature.

“IUCN Members.” IUCN, 24 June 2020, www.iucn.org/about/members/iucn-members.

“Why Are Glaciers and Sea Ice Melting?” WWF, World Wildlife Fund, www.worldwildlife.org/pages/why-are-glaciers-and-sea-ice-melting.

“Ocean Acidification.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/science/ocean-acidification.

“Kyoto Protocol.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Oct. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_Protocol.

​

​