In a recent article in this paper, the Mayor of Port Townsend David Faber was quoted as stating that, “our downtown is threatened by rising sea levels due to climate change”. This was given as a reason for the need to keep the Climate Commitment Act. Who says the oceans are actually rising? We measure ocean levels by satellite. That measurement tells us how high the satellite is above the surface of the water, within a centimeter or so. To get the ocean level, they calculate the distance from the satellite to the center of the earth. This is tricky. We can get that number to within 20 kilometers or so. Then we subtract the first number from the second, and give the answer to within a millimeter or two. Of course a child can tell you that math doesn’t work that way. So you say, but what about the rulers we have on the rocks on the beaches all over the world?

Well, some say the ocean is rising, but some say it is falling. What they actually tell us is whether or not the land is rising from or falling into the ocean.

Cascadia rising is a thing though. It tells us that our coastline is rising from the ocean. In short, there is no way to measure ocean levels. So spending money, my money, your money, to combat rising oceans here in the Northwest is fraud. Fraud committed by some well meaning people, and by some that know the truth but push the narrative anyway. The science won’t lie if you have an open mind.

Mark A. White

Port Angeles