Different views on Sea level rise

Facing the rising seas

Text and drawing by Frits Ahlefeldt, DrawnJournalism.com

Sea level rise is a new and growing challenge and there are several widespread perspectives on it, from “we must know more” to “let’s get started”

Roles in the work around sea level rise

For many coastal cities and municipalities sea level rise is a completely new dimension that requires some very different glasses and techniques to deal with than the 4-12 year plans that are the common horizon

There are several approaches to how to the challenge, which is considered by the UN to be one of the greatest humanity has ever faced.

I’ve outlined five of the most common roles and approaches to sea rise here:

1. The project manager who is responsible for coastal protection and stands at the top of the ladder and tries to get an overview of what the rising seas mean, what can be done and how it will affect the coasts and the cities right there.
   
2. The adviser and consultant who, with his specialist knowledge and experience, prepares data and outlines designs and solutions which can be purchased, established and used right there.
   
3. The expert in sea level rise who constantly stares out to sea for the latest knowledge in a field that evolves from month to month, as new dynamics change what we thought we knew.
   It could be data from Greenland or Antarctica, where new heat records shatter the predictions melting ice. Or changes in the Gulf Stream, increases in CO2 content, volcanoes or methane-bubbling, thawed plains of permafrost and huge forest fires in Alaska and Siberia.
   
4. The Ostrich , who would rather watch football, talk about the development of a water park in the beach protection zone, or anything else that is not so long-term, big and gloomy
   
5. The practitioner who would rather start now than hold long meetings and set endless budgets and plans, for something that is so unpredictable that no one can really know what it means or what tomorrow will look like. Thinks that it is better to make a difference today than tomorrow.

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Keywords: Rising seas, sea level rise, climate change, global warming, climate crises, drawnjournalism, visual journalism, illustration, drawing, news, tegnet journalistik, drawn journalism havstigning havstigning2023conf01