Don't exaggerate public concerns
A recent front-page article on rising sea levels described “worst-case scenarios” from the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group suggesting that Puget Sound sea level could rise nearly 2 feet by mid-century and 4 feet by the end of the century.
The 2008 report from the UW Climate Impacts Group, “Sea Level Rise in the Coastal Waters of Washington State,” however, has described these very high sea level rise predictions as “low probability scenarios,” not “worst-case scenarios.”
Both the very low, and the very high sea level rise predictions in this UW report were described as “low probability scenarios.” Describing these very high predictions as “worst case scenarios,” as was done in this Olympian article, exaggerates public concern about sea level increases that actually have a low probability of occurring.
KEN SCHLICHTE, Tumwater