A new interactive web-based tool showing how cities and landmarks would look if sea-levels rise and flood the area has been creating ripples on the web.
Launched by Carbon Story, a crowdfunding website that supports climate change projects, the tool packs a powerful psychological punch. Although it has no scientific accuracy, the tool manages to create a realistic view of cities around the world - all feet-deep in water!
The developers used Web Geo and Google's street view to put together the interactive tool called "World Under Water." You can type in any location in the search bar and the tool will show you how the area will look when flooded by sea-level rise.
Here are some incredible screenshots of how some popular cities would look after a sea-level rise:
The tool is Carbon Story's attempt to emotionally engage people and create awareness about the dangerous effects of the rising sea levels.
"The idea isn't just about creating a shocking effect, but rather to give people an opportunity to become part of the solution to climate change by calculating and offsetting their carbon footprint using Carbon Story's website," said Olof Lundström, cofounder of Carbon Story, in a press release.
"Over the years, there has been a lot of talk about climate change but sadly not enough action. The World Under Water Campaign has been designed not just to increase awareness about climate change, but also to give people a platform to take action to create a better future", Lundström added.
The tool comes just at the heels of a NASA report that said a 10 feet rise in worldwide sea-levels is inevitable as the West Antarctic ice sheet is continuously melting.
"This is really happening. There's nothing to stop it now. But you are still limited by the physics of how fast the ice can flow," said Thomas P. Wagner, a scientist who runs NASA's programs on polar ice, in an interview with the New York Times.
"Today, we present observational evidence that a large sector of the West Antarctic ice sheet has gone into irreversible retreat. It has passed the point of no return,"said Dr. Eric Rignot, a glaciologist at the University of California, Irvine - who contributed to the recent NASA research.
According to the Huffington Post, Miami, Boston, Atlanta and New York City are some of the areas that could completely be wiped off by the next century due to global warming.
On the Brighter Side, Detroit, Homer and Seattle are some cities that could withstand the lash of global warming, according to Grist.com.
While scientists are trying to fix global temperatures, what do property pundits have to say about the demand for real estate and its effects on land value? Read about the effects of global warming on real estate here.
