Editor, Gazette-Journal:

This letter is in response to the article by Bill Nachman in the Nov. 17 issue of the Gazette-Journal ("Study addresses concerns about saltwater intrusion in region").

Seas have risen about 400 feet since the beginning of the melting of the ice covering much of North America and Eurasia about 18,000 years ago. They will continue to modestly rise until another ice age begins. High-end estimates such as 5.5 feet by 2100 are highly speculative projections from unverified computer models that are scientifically meaningless.

Modest sea level rise, saltwater intrusion, and land subsidence are issues in Tidewater Virginia that must be discussed using facts, not speculation.

Kenneth Haapala

Virginia Scientists and Engineers

for Energy and Environment

Fairfax, Va.
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