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he New I I orkaTGmes 3. How much will the seas rise? The real question is how fast. The ocean has accelerated and is now rising at a rate of about a foot per century, forcing governments and property owners to spend tens of billions of dollars fighting coastal erosion. But if that rate continued, it would probably be manageable, experts say. The risk is that the rate will increase still more. Scientists who study the Earth's history say waters could rise by a foot per decade in a worst -case scenario, though that looks unlikely. Many experts believe that even if emissions stopped tomorrow, 15 or 20 feet of sea level rise is already inevitable, enough to flood many cities unless trillions of dollars are spent protecting them. How long it will take is unclear. But if emissions continue apace, the ultimate rise could be 80 or 100 feet. 4. Is recent crazy weather tied to climate change? Some of it is. Scientists have published strong evidence that the warming climate is making heat waves more frequent and intense. It is also causing heavier rainstorms, and coastal flooding is gettin�z worse the oceans rise because of human emissions. Global warming has intensified droughts in regions like the Middle East, and it may have strengthened a recent drought in California. In many other cases, though hurricanes, for example the linkage to global warming for particular trends is uncertain or disputed. Scientists are gradually improving their understanding as computer analyses of the climate grow more powerful. Part 3 - What can we do? 1. Are there any realistic solutions to the problem? Yes, but change is happening too slowly. Society has put off action for so long that the risks are now severe, scientists say. But as long as there are still unburned fossil fuels in the ground, it is not too late to act. The warming will slow to a potentially manageable pace only when human emissions are reduced to zero. The good news is that they are now falling in many countries as a result of programs like fuel - economy standards for cars, stricter building codes and emissions limits for power plants. But experts say the energy transition needs to speed up drastically to head off the worst effects of climate change. 2. What is the Paris Agreement? Virtually every country agreed to limit future emissions. The landmark deal was reached outside Paris in December 2015. The reductions are voluntary and the pledges do not do enough to head off severe effects. But the agreement is supposed to be reviewed every few years so that countries ramp up their commitments. President Trump announced in 2017 that he would pull the United States out of the deal, though that will take years, and other countries have said they would go forward regardless of American intentions. https: / /www. nytimes.com /interactive /2017/cli mate /what- is -cli mate - change.html ?em_pos = large &emc =ed it_cl i m_20170919 &n 1 = &nI id= 78952708 &ref =head I ine &te =1