How might the effects of global warming play out?
One of the consequences of global warming is rising sea levels. Rates of glacial melting, in both Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, as well as mountain glaciers, are rapidly accelerating. When that melt water goes into the ocean, the sea level rises. The rate at which this happens seems slow relative to an event like a tsunami, and therefore might appear to pose little threat. But in areas like Antarctica, large masses of ice could cut loose quickly, melt rapidly, and cause a rapid increase in sea level. The rates of rise would not cause catastrophic, immediate loss of life for people in, say, Manhattan. It might take a year or a few years to flood the lowest elevations of Manhattan and people would be able to adapt. But now think about the number of really poor folks who live in coastal areas like Bangladesh or Burma, who are already severely impacted by major storms. With a sea level rise, the number of climate-related deaths and displaced refugees will increase significantly. That
