Urban Coastlines and Rising Seas The Sunday Review has a thought-provoking trio of Op-Ed pieces on the drivers and implications of coastal losses in a warming world with crowded shores. See the links below, but also be sure to click here for an excellent interactive "what if" graphic charting the changed geography of a host of American cities as sea levels rise: Is This the End? Rising Seas, Vanishing Coastlines Paying for Future Catastrophes There's much to ponder, but I only have time for one comment: The third piece, focused on insurance and federal disaster policy, is wise to propose "a presidential commission tasked with redesigning our national disaster financing strategy." But its inclusion of "food stamp" style discounts for poor people in vulnerable regions side-steps the need to pair such policies with long-term initiatives aimed at shifting settlement patterns altogether.