By Bethany Bella

The magnolia tree and flower is associated with nobility, perseverance, dignity and a love of nature. This monthly, environmentally -themed report will include a summary of a featured National Geographic article, as well as personal opinions/petitions from one of the Lions Roar Co-Editor-in-Chiefs, Bethany Bella.

Rising sea levels are inevitable, according to the September 2013 National Geographic magazine. Because of abundant fossil fuel emissions already present in the atmosphere, due to many years of non-renewable energy exhaustion, weve locked in to several additional feet of sea water, as the planet accommodates to the amount of carbon dioxide accumulating in the ozone. The pressing matter is how much and how soon can we expect this increase to affect the human population. Global warming has contributed to the sea level crisis in two ways. One water expands as it warms, and the global temperature has climbed more than a full Fahrenheit degree within the past century. As the majority of the Earth is covered in a layer of water, mostly salt water oceans, this expansion is quite widespread but difficult to measure on a global scale. Second ice is melting, due to the warming of the global climate. Experts are concerned about the large ice sheets found in Greenland and Antarctica and the consequences of these huge ice blocks dissolving into more liquid water. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration conducted a report of four possible sea-level scenarios come the year 2100. The highest possible

predication is a 6.6 foot increase. The US Army Corps of Engineers believes an increase of 5 feet of sea levels is a realistic scenario, as well. The rise of sea levels is a serious threat to the approximately 150 million people who currently live on coastal cities or stretches of available coastland. Natural flooding disasters, like New York

nents like South America would suffer tremendous losses of land to the swell of sea water. The entire planet is caught in an ever-dripping hourglass of H20 we can either choose to sink or swim. This article about the inevitable reality of rising sea levels is quite shocking, but I may be one of the only Americans to think so, or to give much thought to the situation at all. Most Americans are content to just consume the goods they desire in the moment and heed no mind to the future and its consequences. By firmly rooting themselves in the present, they ignorantly refuse to accept responsibility for not recycling, wasting resources, and burning an incredible amount of unnecessary Citys devastating Hurricane Sandy fossil fuels. Eventually, they had to a mere 11 months ago, represent have known this exponential use of the potential future in this creeping, resources couldnt last, right? ever-advancing issue, according to I believe in taking actions right climate and weather researchers. If now to stop the dependence of all the polar ice caps were to melt, fossil fuels. We already know that and Greenland to give way, prime the oceans will rise because of American cities, such as Miami, excessive carbon dioxide present in New Orleans, and New York City, the ozone in this age, so we should would be completely submerged, as actively prevent the increase of sea would the entire states of Florida, levels by transitioning to renewLouisiana, and a sizeable portion able energy. Lets stop digging of the Eastern coast states. The ourselves into a sinkhole, and start United States wouldnt be the only rebuilding the walls of civilization country to suffer great assets and to help our warming world. available land resources, as well. Countries like China and conti-