Sea levels will rise for 1,000 years to come

Perhaps the scariest thing about the U.N. climate assessment released today is that what we have done already will continue to degrade the earth for 1,000 years, no matter what we do in the future:

While the new report projected a modest rise in seas by 2100 — between 7 and 23 inches — it also concluded that seas would continue to rise, and crowded coasts retreat, for at least 1,000 years to come. By comparison, seas rose about 6 to 9 inches in the 20th century.

The right message to take from this is not defeatism. The right message to take from this is for God's sake let's not make it any worse than we already have.