Atlantic Rising: Imagining Sea Level Rise

This work started out as a pictorial sampling of the beaches of the east coast of North America. The images were accompanied by whimsical, metaphorical descriptions of my feelings at the time the image was made or when it was finished. Probably ignited by something I read or saw on climate change, I started asking myself how “we” would feel or cope if these scenes and locations disappeared or were destroyed or inundated as a result of sea level rise resulting from climate change. We have had some hints of what that might look like from hurricanes Sandy and Katrina but the images arising from those catastrophes were more concerned with the societal toll: housing, business, lives washed away rather than beaches, dunes and habitat lost. Not as dramatic, but still destructive is the surreptitious habitat change and destruction caused by salt water intrusion. The constant creeping march of saltwater into freshwater aquifers and habitats, polluting drinking water sources and changing habitat structure and function. Our coastal areas are beautiful and heavily populated and provide critical habitat and commercial opportunity. They are critical to our society and our culture. I hope these images will get you to think about what we have to lose if we don’t increase our efforts to control and reduce climate-warming emissions.