Download MS TAIMUN I Chair Reports Committee: Environment Committee

MS TAIMUN I Chair Reports
Committee: Environment Committee
Chair: Grant Wang Co-Chair: Grace Lin
Issue 2: Threat to coastal cities due to global warming.
General Overview
Global warming caused by greenhouse gases poses a threat to all nations, as temperatures increase steadily
worldwide. This is especially a big problem coastal cities and water-touching-countries, as they are positioned
near rising bodies of water—the cause of melting chunks of ice—eventually leading to land flooding and intense
temperature changes. The outcomes are expected to pollute fresh water sources and displace masses of human
population. Massive evacuation must be made, or strong barriers have to be built. Many important cities and
countries have at least a part of its country touching bodies of water, so a quick and efficient act must be done.
Overview: < http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/effects/coastal/index.html >
Definition of Key Terms
 Coastal cities: Coastal cities are cities along the shores of a sea/ocean.
 Dikes: A dike is a geologic tool used to stem or stop floods.
 Evacuation: An evacuation is an act of removing the human population from one area, usually as an act of
safety. During storms and earthquakes, there are many reports to evacuate in case of floods and tsunamis.

Flooding: An invasion of land by water in places where normally, would be dry.
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Glaciers: Glaciers are large chunks of ice that provide much of the freshwater sources in the Himalayas.
Global warming: Global warming describes the increase in the average temperature of the earth’s
atmosphere. (especially sustained increase that causes climatic changes)

Greenhouse gases: Greenhouse gases are, as the name implies, gases, such as carbon dioxide or methane,
that contribute to potential climate change. These gases eventually lead to a global warming.

Ozone layer: The ozone layer is a layer in Earth’s atmosphere which contains relatively high concentrations
of ozone (O3). This layer absorbs 93-99% of the sun’s high frequency ultraviolet light, which is potentially
damaging to life on earth.
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Sea level: Sea level describes the average height of the sea surface, usually measured over a period of years.
Thermal expansion: Thermal expansion refers to the increase in volume (and decrease in density) that
results from warming water; a warming of the ocean leads to an expansion of the ocean volume and hence an
increase in sea level
Background of the Topic
The effects of global warming on rising sea levels have been apparent for over the last 125,000 years.
However, the problem had always been mainly attributed to the theory of thermal expansion. However, in the
current 21st Century, in addition to thermal expansion, scientists found another root of the rising sea levels:
glaciers (the largest is Lambert Glacier: 40,000 sq km approx.) and ice sheets (the largest is East Antarctic ice
sheet: 10,500 sq km approx.).
More than 2% of the earth’s water is frozen in glaciers and ice sheets. But as greenhouse gas emissions
continue to generate global warming, the annual worldwide temperature also swells. The warmer weather brings
about two outcomes for the frozen glaciers and ice sheets. A possible result would be the frozen ice melting into
liquid, flowing directly into oceans, further adding to the body of oceans, and therefore raising the sea level; the
glaciers and ice sheets could break off into chunks, displacing the water and increasing the sea level.
Rising sea levels cause many problems, especially for coastal cities as they are adjacent to bodies of
oceans. Land will be much more prone to natural disasters, erosion, pollution, and flooding. Furthermore, the
flooding itself contaminates fresh water, not only lowering the supply for consumption but also killing off many
freshwater creatures such as fishes, otters, hippos, geese, and alligators. At extreme levels, high sea level flooding
may even cause some coastal cities to completely sink, forcing nations to evacuate their homeland in search of
terrain with higher elevation.
Many of the widely known places on Earth are exposed to the vast sea. Taking India as an example, severe
water-pattern changes can drastically change the lives of Hindus bathing in the Ganges River. Island nations, such
as Sri Lanka, The Maldives, London, Indonesia, and the Philippines—and even Taiwan—could be submerged or
could face serious flooding. This jeopardizes the human race to an even deeper level—there would be less land
available to humans, and coastal storms would also increase. Evacuation and the need to move to a safer
area ,where storms do not destroy homes and floods do not drown crops, will provide less land for more people.
New ways to either stem the rise of the ocean or to prevent coastal damages, must be found.
Links:
EPA: < http://www.epa.gov/ >
Sea Level Rise: < http://www.cmar.csiro.au/sealevel/ >
SEPA: < http://www.sepa.org.uk/climate_change.aspx >
UN: < http://www.un.org/en/ >
Vulnerability of Countries: <http://www.int-res.com/articles/cr/12/c012p137.pdf>
Major Countries and Organizations Involved
*Many of the countries involved with Issue 2 are either island nations, or are openly exposed to the sea and have
little defense against coastal storms. They are especially vulnerable to coastal problems*
Bangladesh: Bangladesh, with its southern region vulnerable to floods, fear the monsoons.
Cambodia: Like its neighbors, Thailand and Bangladesh, Cambodia’s southwestern region is exposed to the sea.
China: The entire East, South, and South-eastern regions of the massive nation are all vulnerable to storms.
Egypt: The Sinai Peninsula of Egypt is between two bodies of water—should there be a serious storm, the whole
Sinai Peninsula could become the strait of Egypt.
India: India’s southern region is vulnerable to floods, and many storms bring pollution.
Indonesia: This island nation suffers greatly whenever a storm arrives because there are few mainlands.
Libya: Like its Western neighbor Tunisia, Libya fears storms in the Mediterranean because of its vulnerable
northern region.
Mozambique: Mozambique is on the East side of Africa. It’s whole Eastern region is subjected to storms that
blow past Madagascar.
Senegal: Probably the most Western African country, Senegal’s Western region faces severe storms that occur to
the west of Africa.
Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka is the island south of India. A lonely island, Sri Lanka is vulnerable in the four directions.
Thailand: Thailand’s southern region is vulnerable to sweeping monsoons.
The Maldives: A series of islands, the Maldives are especially vulnerable during storms.
Tunisia: Tunisia is a peninsula that juts out from Africa. A powerful storm could easily wipe Tunisia away.
Vietnam: Vietnam takes the brunt of any monsoon that makes its way towards Laos. Vietnam grows many crops,
most notably rice, and floods often damage the Eastern region of Vietnam.
Date of Issues
(View Statistics)
Important/Relevant Documents
Although there are several important treaties that focus on the use of water, few agreements or treaties are related
to the coastal problems. There have been few, if none, agreements that call for nations to aid one another in times
of coastal issues.
Previous Solutions
 Although huge evacuation systems could be deployed, it takes a large amount of time for the process of
evacuation to systemize. Much of the land still available on Earth would be crowded if the coastal population
were to move inland. This would not work too well today because of the massive population.

Building dikes and dams to hold back the water may have been a good idea in the past, but today, with the
lack of available resources and the time constraints, it is close to impossible to enclose an island nation with
dikes surrounding its beaches.
Statistics
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/com
mons/0/0f/Recent_Sea_Level_Rise.png
Issue 2
The rise in sea levels: http://bildart.de/kpress/images/stories/020
42009/sea_level_graph.jpg
Bibliography/Plagiarism Checklist
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O’Hanlon, Larry. “Sea Level Rise May Sink Island Nations.” Discovery News. Discovery, 3 Feb. 2010. Web. 19
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Links

Global Warming Affecting Coastal Cities
EPA: < http://www.epa.gov/ >
Sea Level Rise: < http://www.cmar.csiro.au/sealevel/ >
SEPA: < http://www.sepa.org.uk/climate_change.aspx >
UN: < http://www.un.org/en/ >
Appendix (Useful Links)
-UN Website: http://www.un.org/
-THIMUN Website: http://www.thimun.org/
-Global Policy: http://www.globalpolicy.org/
-CNN Website: http://www.cnn.com/
-CIA World Factbook: http://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
-Nation Master: http://www.nationmaster.com/