Natural Influences Driving Sea Level Rise Overlooked in Media’s Climate Coverage, Heritage Report Says

Sea level rise on planet Earth could be attributed in part to astronomical influences that involve the sun, moon, and other planets, according to a new research paper from The Heritage Foundation taking aim at media reports on climate change that fixate on carbon dioxide emissions while ignoring other factors.

The gravitational interactions of heavenly bodies throughout the solar system figure into a larger set of natural phenomena affecting the oceans, cited in Heritage’s special report. (The Daily Signal is Heritage’s news and commentary outlet.)

But because many media outlets and academic journals falsely assume that only warming periods and human activity can have significant impacts on sea level rise, they typically seize on definitions that are “ambiguous” and “insufficient,” writes David Legates, a climatologist and professor emeritus at the University of Delaware who is a visiting fellow at Heritage.

“A more useful definition of sea level rise or, as it should be called, coastal inundation, is the increase in water levels relative to the adjacent land,” Legates says in his report.

The new research paper can be a vital tool for policymakers, Diana Furchtgott-Roth, director of Heritage’s Center on Energy, Climate, and Environment, said.

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