A tidal surge is likely to happen in Dumaguete City, particularly at the Rizal Boulevard, because of the impact or effects of sea level rise.

This will be a result of a combination of the high inter-tidal current and high surface wind, Silliman president Dr. Ben Malayang III said at a forum with a cross section of the community, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, PAG-ASA, and students. Studies of an inter-governmental panel showed the melting of the ice, but the effect of heat being trapped in the oceans do not cause that sea level rise, he said.

He said it is the expansion of water molecules in the ocean due to heat that's likely to explain more of sea level rise we are experiencing. Malayang said his fear is explained by the fact that the Pacific Ocean, of which the Dumaguete coastline is directly linked through the Bohol Sea, has a level that is three to five feet higher than the rest of the Pacific.

With the albido effect and sea level rise going into the Pacific ocean, the flow of water towards the coastline of Dumaguete, fronting the boulevard is likely to be more severe than in other parts of the country, Malayang further said.

It can be observed that during the highest tide mark at the boulevard, the water had reached the doorstep of several establishments across the road. There were occasions that water went above the pier of Dumaguete, he said.

Malayang said recently that climate change cannot be solved because it is a mitigating variable and what needs to be solved is how people behave as organisms in the surface of the earth.

An environmentalist before his stint in Silliman, Malayang said the problem is not with the climate but how people behave. He also said that since 1996 nothing has been done with the issue, and now the problem is overtaking the people.

He stressed that these are the end results of so much misuse of our environment, and the irresponsible manner by which we consume our goods in the surface thinking that everything has no limits.*JG

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