Nature and Climate

I'm not a scientist, but I am a curious questioner. If you are bored and looking for something to do, look into the topic of land sinking. 

When "climate change" was accusingly uttered, recently, because of the flooding in New Jersey, I had this strong feeling to look into the causes. As in, it's not just sea levels rising. 

Low and behold, it has a lot to do with land sinking due to human consumption of underground water and not just ice caps melting. In fact, it's not only happening, excessively, in New Jersey, but it's all over the world. One of the worse area, based on an article I read, was in Jakarta, Indonesia. 

There is an educational article on the Springer website written in 1997 by Sun, Grandstaff, & Shagam, regarding the New Jersey shoreline. It discusses the cause and effect of the increased amount of groundwater usage there, as well as coastal flooding, which is creating land loss and land sinking. 

But, here's the thing, we also have many desalination plants worldwide, too. Since that article was written many more desalination plants have been built. We're not just taking water from the land but also the ocean. 

Wikipedia: "There are approximately 16,000 operational desalination plants, located across 177 countries, which generate an estimated 95 million m3/day of freshwater." 

My point, in all of this, is human consumption of water, due to rising worldwide population, causing more of a balance of nature than we gave credit to before. Land may be sinking but water may not be rising as fast due to more and more desalination plants being built.

It would seem that the increased population may not be as bad as predicted, because it may be holding back the land flooding from occurring, due to predicted rising sea levels. An abundant population? Scientists trying to outsmart nature but nature knows best?

To continue, I live in a state that's surrounded by three sides of water. We are sea level and have flooding due to many reasons. We have a rainy season where a deluge of rain can flood our streets, especially if a cloud decides not to move and just sits there dumping tons of rain. I've experienced this numerous times in living here. And, this phenomenon isn't just at sea level areas. It can be just as detrimental in mountain regions when it occurs. 

But, what some "climate changers" aren't taking into consideration, regarding sea level flooding, is storm surges. This type of coastal flooding can occur worldwide and I've experienced this many times, too.

Wikipedia: "A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the normal tidal level, and does not include waves."

There's one particular thing I've learned in my life, if you continue to build in areas that can be expected to flood, to act surprised, when it does, is moronic. 

As my husband asked me once: Where's the safest place to live in America? My reply: No where. 

Yes, climate does change, but it can also be very consistent. There is nothing new about flooding, tsunamis, earthquakes, wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes, landslides, ice storms, droughts, etc. What's new is more international media coverage (often from ignorant or bias journalists) and grandstanding politicians. 

All we can do is question everything, as well as planning and preparing the best we can. To build anywhere thinking we're going to beat nature, is foolish. Nature often holds the upper hand.