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Though the waters have already begun to subside, the city of Venice is still struggling to function in the face of the biggest flood in 22 years. Famed for its canals and rumors it is sinking into the sea, Venetians are no strangers to floods. Still, despite the fact that floods occur several times a year in Venice, the most recent rise, with waters climbing higher than five feet in some places, forced the mayor to issue an order asking tourists to remain at home. Indeed, the images are shocking, and many people have been left wondering whether this is a sign of global warming and climate change.
Though flooding has been a part of Venice throughout history, tides have risen higher and faster in recent years. Most experts agree that the main cause of this trend is global warming and, according to Fabio Trincardi, a geologist who heads Italy's Institute of Marine Sciences, flooding will only get worse in the coming years. Trincardi, along with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, fears the sea levels will rise as much as 20 inches by the end of the century, an increase that could be catastrophic for low-lying cities like Venice.
Many in Venice believe that the answer to the flooding problem is the Moses Proect which would install a series of retractable flood barriers around the city. The project, which began construction several years ago at an estimate cost of $5.5 billion, is opposed by environmental groups who argue the expensive project treats the symptoms of a greater problem while ignoring the cause. Reducing emissions, they argue, is the only sure way to protect cities like Venice.
Find out more about the latest environmental news on Focus Earth: December 6, 2008: An Interview with Laura Bush & Flooding in Venice.
Read more about global warming and climate change:
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Any Nation That Wants to Combat Climate Change Has an Ally in the US: President-Elect Obama
Obama v. Bush: Climate Change Reversals and a National Energy Council (Video Roundup)
