A New York Times Critics’ Top Book of 2017 One of Washington Post’s 50 Notable Works of Nonfiction in 2017 One of Booklist’s Top 10 Science Books of 2017 “An immersive, mildly gonzo and depressingly well-timed book about the drenching effects of global warming, and a powerful reminder that we can bury our heads in the sand about climate change for only so long before the sand itself … can bury our heads in the sand about climate change for only so long before the sand itself disappears.” (Jennifer Senior, New York Times)
What if Atlantis wasn’t a myth, but an early precursor to a new age of great flooding? Across the globe, scientists and civilians alike are noticing rapidly rising sea levels, and higher and higher tides pushing more water directly into the places we live, from our most vibrant, historic cities to our last remaining traditional coastal villages. With each crack in the great ice sheets of the Arctic and Antarctica, and each tick upwards of Earth’s thermometer, we are moving closer to the brink of broad disaster.
By century’s end, hundreds of millions of people will be retreating from the world’s shores as our coasts become inundated and our landscapes transformed. From island nations to the world’s major cities, coastal regions will disappear. Engineering projects to hold back the water are bold and may buy some time. Yet despite international efforts and tireless research, there is no permanent solution-no barriers to erect or walls to build-that will protect us in the end from the drowning of the world as we know it.
The Water Will Come is the definitive account of the coming water, why and how this will happen, and what it will all mean. As he travels across twelve countries and reports from the front lines, acclaimed journalist Jeff Goodell employs fact, science, and first-person, on-the-ground journalism to show vivid scenes from what already is becoming a water world.more
Jeff Goodell traveled the world to report on how rising sea levels are impacting human society across the globe. His new book The Water Will Come takes readers to shrinking Alaskan glaciers with President
Obama and into the flood-prone homes of impoverished people living in Lagos, Nigeria.
“By that time, I’ll be dead, so what does it matter?” Quote from a Florida real estate developer, The Water Will Come
I long wondered how bad it would get before people broke down and changed how we live and do things. I consider how Americans gave up comforts during WWII rationing, all pulling together for a great cause we all believed in. I don’t see that happening today.
As Goodell points out, “fossil fuel empire” Koch industries money has swayed government. Private citizens can recycle and lower the heat and ride bicycles but the impact is small. As long as governments are more worried about big business than national security endangered by climate change we can’t alter what is coming.
What? you ask; national security?
Well, consider that military bases across the nation and world are located in areas that WILL FLOOD. Like the Norfolk Naval Base, the Langley Air Force Base, and NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility! Along with the financial district of New York City and expensive Florida beach front homes, we will be losing the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site in the Marshall Islands, where 12,000 Americans operate space weapons programs and track NASA research.
So if the loss of Arctic ice and habitat and the Inuit way of life doesn’t concern you, perhaps this information will.
So many issues are raised in the book. Consider: We have not established how to deal with climate change refugees. Where are these people going to go? Countries in Europe, along with the U.S., are closing borders–the same countries whose fossil energy use is the primary cause of climate change behind rising sea levels! What is their responsibility?
There are a lot of ideas of how to deal with rising sea levels, including the building of walls and raising cities. It seems, though, that people are more interested in coping with the change than addressing the root cause of climate change. We just don’t want to give up fossil fuels.
The book is highly readable for the general public. Although the cover photo made me think of an action disaster movie, the books is a well-researched presentation of “fact, science, and first-person, on-the-ground journalism.”
I received a free book from the publisher through Goodreads.
A watchman on the sea wall, Jeff Goodell is warning the masses to prepare for the coming water that will transform our earth forever.
This is a real life version of what was once only watched on ABC Sunday disaster movie thriller. Scary and eye opening, this hard to put down page turner enlightens the reader to what is to come.
He who has ears let them hear and not delay to be ready to move to higher ground.
A look at how rising sea levels will impact coastal areas, looking particularly at the east coast of the USA. It doesn’t seem a good time to buy in Florida.
Jeff Goodell’s book, The Water Will Come is an example of truly excellent environmental journalism. His is the story of climate change leading to polar ice cap melts leading to rising sea levels. The rising sea is already regularly affecting cities like Miami, Florida, and Venice, Italy. Greater frequency of intense storms is adding to the problem. More cities in coastal areas will become equally affected in a very short time.
Goodell takes us to several towns and cities, among them a tiny town in Greenland; Norfolk, Virginia (the home of a huge U.S. military installation threatened regularly by flooding); Manhattan in New York City as well as Miami and Venice. We also visit islands: an Inuit-inhabited island off the coast of Alaska, and the island nations of the Maldives, Kiribati, and Marshall Islands – all threated with disappearing under the seas in the near future.
He returns again and again to Miami which he describes as “drowning.” He writes about the threat of coastal flooding to national security, not to mention the stunning economic costs to hold back the waters. Human attempts to keep the sea from the land are covered and shown to be ultimately fruitless as long as we insist on living on the beach.
One of the most disturbing chapters was about the breathtakingly huge numbers of environmental refugees that sea-level rise is bringing about already. Also there’s the “climate apartheid” which gives an escape route to the rich but forces the poor and middle-class to have to deal directly with the results of sea level rise. I add to that the problem that climate change and changes in weather due to rising sea-levels have on weather. Drought and fires in the American West are directly related.
What we need is simple, Goodells says: “If we want to minimize the impact of sea-level rise in the next century, here’s how we do it: stop burning fossil fuels and move to higher ground.” Is that happening? No, not fast enough. I don’t know what it’s going to take.
Very well written and informative book on a subject of critical importance. A book every intelligent and thoughtful person should read
“And of course, the basic injustice of climate change is that the people who are least responsible for the problem are the ones who will pay the most dearly for it.” This was a fascinating, slightly humorous and, yet informative read on global warming. It delves into the history of the warming of Earth while taking you on a trip, with a main focus on Miami, around the world. I enjoyed the various interviews spread throughout the book. This was a good read on global warming/climate change without confusing the reader with a ton of scientific facts.
Jeff Goodell, a journalist and contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine, has been reporting on climate change for years. Hurricane Sandy, which hit New York in October 2012, was a transformative event for him. The storm surge occurred near the time of high tide along the Atlantic Coast. This contributed to record tide levels, at 8.99 feet on top of tides almost twice that of its nearest rivals. Jeff Goodell started thinking about this. What if the water didn’t go away? What would be the impact of rising sea levels on coastal cities? He also wants to makes us think deeply about this issue. Can we overcome the willful blindness on sea-level rise and on climate change in general?
Highly Recommended.