Tag: ocean levels rising

As oceans rise, Democrats put all hands on deck for climate change

White House and congressional Democrats agree moving away from fossil fuels, creating green jobs are top priorities

As the 117th Congress enters its second month and the Biden administration fills out its Cabinet, Democrats in the executive and legislative branches of the federal government are in agreement that climate change deserves swift attention and in alignment that legislation to support the transition from fossil to clean energy is a good place to begin.

Even President Joe Biden’s nominees for director of national intelligence, secretary of Agriculture, Treasury secretary and deputy Defense secretary, not traditionally posts with ecological focuses, described climate change as a critical issue.

If there was doubt that the Senate under Democratic control would approach climate change as an all-hands-on-deck threat, Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., aimed to lay it to rest on Feb. 3, calling the warming globe “the existential threat of our time.” Continue reading.

Indonesia plans to move capital city from Jakarta to island of Borneo. Why? Jakarta is sinking

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has announced a plan to move the nation’s capital. While there have been various reasons that nations have relocated their capitals, there’s a serious reason for this move: The city is sinking. In fact, according to the World Economic Forum, Jakarta is one of the fastest-sinking cities in the entire world.

A new capital will be established on the island of Borneo. As of now, it’s estimated that the move will cost around $34 billion and could take 10 years.

There are two main reasons for this decision. First of all, sections of the city are sinking between three and 10 centimeters every year. This can be extremely hard on infrastructure and building foundations. Jakarta is also on the coast, meaning that the risk of flooding is very real. Specifically, high-tide seawater flooding is a risk, but stormwater flooding (brought on by rain) is also an issue.

View the complete August 28 article by Marissa Higgins on the Daily Kos website here.