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Published 10 years ago by TNY with 17 Comments

This world map shows how different it would be if the polar ice caps melted

This is the first map of its kind on such a scale and level of complexity, depicts our planet as it would look without its polar ice caps, with sea levels 260 ft higher as they are today.

  • Dramatically depicting the devastation caused by the 260 feet sea level rise, the map also shows present shorelines for better understanding and effect. The cities that would be submerged after the sea level rise, can be easily distinguished from the rest by a different label mark and color tinting.

    According to recent studies, there is enough ice in Earth’s polar caps to cause about 250-300 ft(80 – 100 m) rise of the sea level. Result of such an event would be catastrophic to human civilization and earth’s biosphere. More than 75% of the world’s population lives below 300 ft above the sea level, including the vast majority of all large urban areas.

    Although this scenario is extremely unlikely to happen within our lifetimes, the truth is, that climate is going to change sharply. Unless we limit our CO2 emissions to bare minimum, Earth will be more than 4 degrees warmer in the year 2100 as it is now. Such a rise in temperature would be destructive to environment and human civilization as well.

    Full resolution world map

    More info at the source

 

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  • Amabaie
    +5

    So Iraq loses and Walt Disney World becomes a water park.

  • KondoR
    +4

    How about we take this issue seriously and not let it happen.

    • jedlicka
      +3

      Id also rather have this map stay fiction

  • drunkenninja
    +4

    The Amazon sea looks pretty awesome.

    • canuck
      +4

      Not in Brazil's point of view.

      • drunkenninja
        +4

        Yeah, they would be loosing about 1/4th of their country.

  • NotZodsKeeper
    +3

    This is brilliant thanks to whomever put this together

  • flad
    +2

    God won't let this happen, don't you remember the story of Noah's Ark? Nothing to see here...move along citizen.

    • LaughAtSky (edited 10 years ago)
      +3

      Noah's Ark was a made up story. It didn't happen. If you think that the story of Noah's Ark is reason for believing that the above scenario will not happen, you really need to rethink your method of coming to decisions about the nature of reality. And as for the general notion of God preventing bad things from happening, where the hell do I even start?! Are you totally oblivious to the fact that vast chunks of southern England were underwater for most of the winter that's just gone? I think if you had just lost your house and all your possessions to flood water, you would have a hard time continuing to believe that there's a God that is looking out for us. With everything that has happened in the world so far, there are only 3 possibilities that make sense: 1) That God is incompetent. 2) That God doesn't care or is evil. 3) That God doesn't really exist. Take your pick, buddy. It's almost certainly one of those. (hint: it's probably number 3)

      • flad
        +3

        Perhaps I should have included a sarcasm tag?

        • LaughAtSky
          +3

          Yes, because there are genuine religious idiots out there who seriously believe what you said.

      • Orblord
        +1

        I'm not really religious, but your argument only combats the idea of an antropomorphic immanencent God.

        • LaughAtSky
          +3

          Top marks for teaching me two new long words I didn't know before, but zero marks for explaining your point properly or explaining why it wasn't a good argument against the comment I was replying to.

          • Orblord
            +1

            Okay, your argument only challenge the idea of a human-like god with human-like values, a physical entity, aka "man in the cloud"-like approaches to religion, which some, but far from all people who might pursue a belief in something called a god, actually believes in. When it comes to the comment you were replying too, the person already said s/he was sarcastic., so...

            • LaughAtSky
              +3

              But the old testament says God made man in his own image. So doesn't this mean God is human-like?

              But I take your point that not everyone believes it as literally as that. Only the fundamentalist lunatics do.

  • kobeef
    +2

    Ouch, many major cities around the world are sunken.

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