As with most humans, they're not thinking long-term. A global average rise of almost 12 inches is expected by 2050, with a much more dramatic increase by 2100.
Sea Level Rise 101
The causes and effects of this undeniable consequence of climate change—and how communities can respond.
In the United States, seas are rising slower in some places like the Pacific Northwest, where tectonic plates are shifting land upward. But they are rising much faster on the East Coast, which should anticipate about a foot of rise (14–21 inches or 0.36–0.54 meters) by 2050. The western Gulf of Mexico, which is experiencing the fastest sea level rise in the United States, should expect 19.3–27.2 inches (0.49–0.69 meters) in the next 30 years. That’s equal to the total rise in the region seen over the past 100 years.
Projected ranges for sea level rise are reasonably tight because in the near term, we can reliably estimate how much carbon pollution will be released and how the earth’s climate will respond. The range of uncertainty grows over the longer term because absolute sea level rise is accelerating, and pinning down the rate of acceleration, as well as the rate of ice sheet loss, is a complex challenge. One unknown factor is the pace at which the world’s most polluting countries and companies will reduce their global warming emissions.
What can happen is that we reach a tipping point where we can't stop the most severe effects from occurring. Climate change is more than rising ocean levels.
