Global mean sea level rose rapidly following the last ice age approximately 20,000 years ago. However, the rate of sea level rise slowed and has been nearly stable over the last few thousand years. Since around 1900, global average sea level has risen by about seven to eight inches (21cm), and the rate of sea level rise has been accelerating in recent decades as ocean temperatures warm. Nearly half of this rise in sea levels has occurred since 1993, and the rate of global mean level rise since 1993 has been approximately 3.4mm per year. Global mean sea levels will continue to rise throughout the 21st century and beyond.
The main contributors to changes in global mean sea level are thermal expansion caused by warming ocean temperatures and melting of land-based ice that results in the addition of fresh water into the ocean. Sea level rise can vary across the coast due to ocean currents and tidal fluctuations. Before and after maps (see above) show what will happen to the Florida Peninsula when anticipated sea level changes occur. All of Miami and many of the most highly-populated areas of Florida will be inundated.
The same story can be told around the seaboard regions of every nation on Earth. Here in Byron Shire over time we can expect Byron CBD, Brunswick Heads, Mullumbimby and most of the surrounding floodplain will all be inundated. Rising sea temperatures mean cyclones will move further south, bringing destructive winds and storm surges. Keep adding CO2 to the mix and we heat up the planet. This is not conspiracy speculation, it’s just scientific fact. We just have to keep remembering what’s at stake.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
