Introduction:
In this blog post I will be discussing my presentation on Sea Level’s Rising, specifically in Delaware, and how this is effecting our Earth through climate change, ice caps melting, and our use of emission. As we all know, global warming is not a myth, but something happening right in front of our own eyes, and global warming has many different effects that could change the way we see the Earth in 20-30 years, and will most likely affect our next generation. An article that I would like to mention is by Penn State, and this article gives a great understanding to what global warming is, how it is specifically affecting Delaware, and how we can prevent some of the aftermath that will come of our sea level’s rising (I will link the article below!). There is also a news article I will link that talks about how Delaware specifically is being affected by the sea level’s rising, including a video on what our Earth could look like if all of the ice melted. Although it is very unlikely that all of our ice caps will melt, it is still interesting to watch the video, and see how some of our beloved cities (including Charleston), would be underwater or have land compensated for because of the sea level increase.
Summary:
So to continue with our current discussion, I think it is important to also mention what global warming is, and what some of the reasons our ice caps are melting. Global warming as said by the google dictionary is, ” a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth’s atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect cause by increased levels of carbon dioxide, and other pollutions.”. I will be focusing on the gradual increase in the overall temperature of the Earth, because this is one of the main contributions to why the ice caps have began to melt. With our Earth’s temperature increasing, our oceans are also getting warmer, which is what causes the ice to melt. Ice melting is a large contributor to sea level’s rising, because our ice caps are starting to lose density, so water that should be frozen is now being put back into the ocean, which concludes in our water’s rising. A fact from the Penn State article shows that in the years 1993 to 2008, we have increased sea level by more than one and a half times the amount of water increased in just those years. This shows us that our waters are increasing at the fastest rate yet. 
In this image (above) you are able to see the contrast between the Average Global Sea Level Rise since the Industrial Revolution, and a bar graph showing the Climate-related Contributions to Global Sea Level Rise. The first graph (left) shows us that our sea levels have increased about eight inches since 1880 because of the loss of ice on land, and with the water expanding due to the increasing temperatures. In the second graph (right) you see that there are two bars, one showing thermal expansion, and the other showing the melting land ice, both studying from 1972-2008, to 1993-2008. As shown, when the thermal expansion of the water became to rise slightly, the inches of melting land ice went up dramatically, showing us that 52 percent of sea level rise comes from our ice caps, and glacier melting.
To bring this back to the specifics of the article, places like Delaware have become majorly affected by the sea level rise, since they have a low lying topography, making them higher at risk for flooding, and possibly going underwater in total. In the state of Delaware lies a town called Lewes, which has had a 16 inch increase in sea level, making simple rain storms cause flooding, and putting land underwater. With the rising sea level, town Lewes is having to take extra precautions to flooding, including making higher barriers, so the entire town does not stay flooded. Unfortunately, because of the increase there has been predictions that show there could be a five inch increase in sea level, and for areas like this, it could cause evacuation, and major conflicts for living stability.
Deleware Sinking, http://www.capegazette.com/article/sea-level-rising-delaware-sinking/114930
One of the most asked questions regarding climate change, or rising sea levels, is how we as citizens can stop the progress of damage that is being done to our Earth. One of the best ways we can reduce this is to lower our emission, which includes gas, and radiation. Some simple ways to do this could be through carpooling, lowering gas consumption, recycling, using less hot water, and burning less fossil fuels. All of these things are something we as a society can begin to decrease, and we could possibly see a great change in our earth’s environment, atmosphere, and overall temperature.
Lastly, the ice caps, and glaciers melting is not only harming humans, but our wildlife as well. One of the most popular species that comes to mind when we think about extinction due to polar ice caps would be polar bears. Below are many different pictures showing the unfortunate events that can happen to polar bears when they are not able to find ice to live on, and how they are starting to starve to death, because they are not able to obtain food. This world was theirs before it was ours, and because of that we should take extra care of our wildlife, making sure they are not being compensated due to our human footprint, and the negative impact we are making on the Earth.
Google Images Conclusion:
To conclude, our sea levels are rising to an extent where we are being forced to take action. Our wildlife, and land are being compensated due to the fact we are losing ice caps, glaciers, and destroying our Earth in ways that are becoming noticeable to society. There are many ways to help reduce this, but all together one of the most important things we can do is recycle, and lower our emission, so that we can begin to cool down the Earth again. If we reduced our emission we could possibly cut between six to twenty inches off of our sea level rise, and lower the overall temperature of the Earth. We must also learn how to adapt to this rise, and start funding more programs in order to solve this problem!
Video links/article links that are very helpful, and talked about throughout this blog post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2012/11/01/can-we-stop-the-seas-from-rising-yes-but-less-than-you-think/?utm_term=.eeed337c26ec
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/01/180124172428.htm
Search, “What the Earth would look like if all the Ice Melted”, on youtube.