Luckily, this is not valuable real estate…

And Bethany and Rehoboth, not to mention Assateague. Unless something changes, by the year 2100 they will pretty much all be gone, submerged into the Atlantic Ocean thanks to global warming, according to a study by the National Wildlife Federation.

Global warming isn’t just about habitat for polar bears or desertification of far-away grasslands; it will have real effects on humanity and on our region in particular. We’ll probably be able to protect some major up-river cities from rising sea levels with London-style barriers, but if the sea does rise then smaller cities, seafront cities and recreational retreats are going to be doomed.

And by the way, it doesn’t matter whether global warming is caused by humans or is naturally occurring. If we can’t mitigate it, say goodbye to summers on the shore.

Update: Reader Jason Sutphin points us to a story about Bethany, where serious weather-driven beach degradation is already going on despite expensive protection attempts. If one storm can do that, what will happen when warmer, more energetic storms are combined with permanently higher sea levels?