Is Obama to meet his pledge to lower sea level?

Today, April, 22 environmentalists and the whole world celebrate Earth Day.

Climate scientists are concerned of a drastic increase of sea level over the last years.

In 2008 Obama officially promised to tackle this problem. After being elected, he noticed that his victory marked "the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal."

However, the rate of sea level continues to rise at a high speed, according to the researchers.

Harvard University study, that has been conducted recently, warns about much faster speed of sea level rise against the expected one. Since 1990 sea level rise is 2.5 times faster against the previous century.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says, that sea level has been rising "at a rate of 0.04 to 0.1 inches per year since 1900."

The main reasons of the current significantly larger rate are thermal expansion of the ocean and melting glaciers.

America is the first one who should worry as an accelerating rate of sea level rise is evidenced "especially along the U.S. East Coast and Gulf of Mexico", accordind to the Union of Concerned Scientists, an environmental group. "If global warming emissions were to drop to zero by 2016, sea level will continue to rise in the coming decades as oceans and land ice adjust to the changes we have already made to the atmosphere."

The Golden State is to face 5 feet rise by the end of the century, that could ruin the coastal cities.

Obama issued an executive order, under which it should be taken into account while arranging new federal projects.

"So climate change can no longer be denied- or ignored," Obama said in his address. "This is an issue that's bigger and longer-lasting than my presidency."

Read article in Russian on the Russian version of Pravda.Ru

Also read: Obama's State of the Union: Illusions, exceptionalism, empty promises