Rising sea levels, resulting from global warming, may have a potentially important impact on human culture. Recent evidence supports the contention that increases in greenhouse gases are linked to rising sea levels. One important impact of climate change and rising sea levels is increased rates of extinction across the globe. Further, changes in sea level will have a significant impact on outlying coastal areas, both in terms of physical changes, and in terms of events such as storm surges. Rising sea levels in the United States and across the world will have significant economic and cultural impacts, and may influence human health and the environment through the flooding of toxic waste disposal sites.

Warrick, in his 1993 book, Climate and Sea Level Change: Observations, Projections and Implications, notes that there are many important uncertainties in predicting both global climate change, and changes in sea level. The factors that can impact...
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