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Here is Amsterdam, Holland, the property market for low-lying areas is still running hot since about 800 years and we are, not will be, 2 meters (7 foot in Free

Here is Amsterdam, Holland, the property market for low-lying areas is still running hot since about 800 years and we are, not will be, 2 meters (7 foot in Freedom) under sealevel. [0] And about two thirds of the country is vulnerable to flooding, while the country is among the most densely populated on Earth. [1] Not trying to deny possible flooding by melting ice and expanding seawater, just saying (at least the Dutch) people tend to not care to much about "possible" "one day" "change of 1 in a 100" scenarios while the living is good. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amsterdam https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amsterdam [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flood_control_in_the_Netherlands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flood_control_in_the_Netherlan...

mcv 9y ago
Netherland absolutely takes flooding very seriously. After the 1953 flood, it was decided that that level of flooding should not happen more than once every 10,000 years. The Deltaworks [0] are the result of this. Sea level rise reduces the effectiveness of this coastal protection, so a lot more money is needed to improve the Deltaworks. Fortunately we're a rich country and we can afford it. But only up to a point. There's no way to protect Netherland against a 50 m sea level rise. So as global warming continues, this is going to cost us increasing amounts of money, and eventually our descendants are going to have to abandon this country anyway. Note that it was never about us drowning. It's about our grandchildren and further in the future. Unfortunately a lot of people have quite literally an "apres moi le deluge" attitude about this. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Works https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Works
avar 9y ago
I live in Amsterdam too. This meme that we're all under sealevel is common, but wrong. While literally true in some areas is extremely misleading in the context of a discussion about how rising sealevels impact world cities in general. Your Wikipedia source shows that the elevation goes as low as -2 meters, not that that's the mean elevation of the city. Here's an elevation map of Amsterdam: http://www.floodmap.net/Elevation/ElevationMap/?gi=2759794 http://www.floodmap.net/Elevation/ElevationMap/?gi=2759794 And here's one of The Netherlands: http://www.floodmap.net/Elevation/CountryElevationMap/?ct=NL http://www.floodmap.net/Elevation/CountryElevationMap/?ct=NL Now I happen to live -1 below in Amsterdam, but I'm the exception. Most of Amsterdam is above sealevel, the average seems to be around 6-10 meters above. But most importantly, the elevation profile of the entire country is one where the coast is much higher than sealevel, and then gradually slopes downwards to bits of the interior that are entirely landlocked, but are say 1 meter below sealevel. In other words we have pockets of land that are below sealevel, but they're surrounded by and protected by land that's not. There's pretty much zero overlap between where Amsterdam has been sited for the last 800 years and the areas that are anywhere near being under sealevel.

mcv 9y ago

Netherland absolutely takes flooding very seriously. After the 1953 flood, it was decided that that level of flooding should not happen more than once every 10,000 years. The Deltaworks [0] are the result of this. Sea level rise reduces the effectiveness of this coastal protection, so a lot more money is needed to improve the Deltaworks. Fortunately we're a rich country and we can afford it. But only up to a point. There's no way to protect Netherland against a 50 m sea level rise. So as global warming continues, this is going to cost us increasing amounts of money, and eventually our descendants are going to have to abandon this country anyway. Note that it was never about us drowning. It's about our grandchildren and further in the future. Unfortunately a lot of people have quite literally an "apres moi le deluge" attitude about this. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Works https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Works

avar 9y ago

I live in Amsterdam too. This meme that we're all under sealevel is common, but wrong. While literally true in some areas is extremely misleading in the context of a discussion about how rising sealevels impact world cities in general. Your Wikipedia source shows that the elevation goes as low as -2 meters, not that that's the mean elevation of the city. Here's an elevation map of Amsterdam: http://www.floodmap.net/Elevation/ElevationMap/?gi=2759794 http://www.floodmap.net/Elevation/ElevationMap/?gi=2759794 And here's one of The Netherlands: http://www.floodmap.net/Elevation/CountryElevationMap/?ct=NL http://www.floodmap.net/Elevation/CountryElevationMap/?ct=NL Now I happen to live -1 below in Amsterdam, but I'm the exception. Most of Amsterdam is above sealevel, the average seems to be around 6-10 meters above. But most importantly, the elevation profile of the entire country is one where the coast is much higher than sealevel, and then gradually slopes downwards to bits of the interior that are entirely landlocked, but are say 1 meter below sealevel. In other words we have pockets of land that are below sealevel, but they're surrounded by and protected by land that's not. There's pretty much zero overlap between where Amsterdam has been sited for the last 800 years and the areas that are anywhere near being under sealevel.