Jeff Goodell: The Water Will Come

Lecture by US journalist Jeff Goodell on his book “The Water Will Come” with alot of examples and images around rising sea level and sinking cities. From 2019.

I find this to be one of the really useful and smart talks on the topic, very straight forward and without the usual vanity antics. I have taken the liberty of writing down Goodell’s bullet points that he uses to structure his talk:

Five truths about Sea Level Rise:

1. Storms and hurricanes are like roulette. Sea Level Rise is like gravity.

2. The water will come – the question only is how fast and how high.

3. Trouble begins long before a city becomes the new Atlantis (Opportunities too – I want to add!)

4. Billions of Dollars will be spent on adaptation and protection. A lot of it will not be well spent.

5. Opportunity often comes disguised as catastrophe.

In the end he also gives some very short and helpful advice, what needs to be done: “Remember, this is not an alien invasion.” “Make risk transparent for everyone.” And finally: “Retreat is not a dirty word.”