According to tthe Bay Conservation And Development Commission, the predicted 3 feet rise in ocean waters will change the Bay Area landscape dramatically. Notably the 3 feet rise which is possible by the year 2100 is a median estimate. Some estimates range as high as a 15 foot increase. Areas lost to the rising waters will vary according to elevation, from a few feet to miles or more.
And so the alchemy of filling in the bay for the past 100 years so that land and wealth could be created is turning into another foolhardy scheme. Variations on this not-thought-through plan are increasingly being replicated around the globe today. Indonesia, Phillipines, Bangladesh and others are recent examples of what clearing tree cover and building communities on flood plains or unappropriate sites produce in disaters.
The Bay Area has time to prepare. But dikes, sea walls , levees or berms are not the answer. Just remember Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans. Less population and responsible conservation is the answer. The net effect of the coming inundation will give better situated Bay Area residents a second chance to see what the Bay looked like before real estate developers showed up. Personally I look forawrd to seeing more wildfowl.
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