Sea level rise : a slow tsunami on America's shores / Orrin H. Pilkey Jr. and Keith C. Pilkey.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Flee the sea : climate refugees -- The end of the Inupiat way of life -- Lord willing and the creek don't rise : sunny day flooding -- Dirty waters and worried minds : health concerns in an age of climate change -- The front line in the battle against sea level rise : the U.S. military -- Is resilience futile? At-risk coastal physical environments -- The environmental impact of surging seas : life at the edge -- Inundated infrastructure : imperiled energy facilities -- Coastal catastrophes : cities on the brink -- Under water : National Flood Insurance and climate gentrification -- What to do about sea level rise.

The consequences of twenty-first-century sea level rise on the United States and its nearly 90,000 miles of shoreline will be immense: Miami and New Orleans will disappear; many nuclear and other power plants, hundreds of wastewater plants and toxic waste sites, and oil production facilities will be at risk; port infrastructures will need to be raised; and over ten million Americans fleeing rising seas will become climate refugees. In this book, the authors argue that the only feasible response along much of the U.S. shoreline is an immediate and managed retreat. Among many topics, they examine sea level rise's effects on coastal ecosystems, health, and native Alaskan coastal communities. They also provide guidelines for those living on the coasts or planning on moving to or away from them, as well as the steps local governments should take to prepare for this unstoppable, impending catastrophe.