April 25, 2016: Large swathes of Silicon Valley – which include the headquarters of tech companies such as Google and Facebook – will disappear as a result of rising sea levels.
According to a group of scientists collectively known as Our Coast, Our Future, they have mapped what a rise in sea levels would do to the Bay area and it appears the locations of several of the world’s biggest tech companies are in the firing line.
Most at risk appears to be Facebook and it’s new 430,000-square-foot complex located slab on the San Francisco Bay shoreline. Designed by Frank Gehry, the offices are designed to house 2,800 people and features a nine-acre rooftop.Â
“Facebook is very vulnerable,†Lindy Lowe, a senior planner at California’s Bay Conservation and Development Commission said to AP. “They built on a very low site – I don’t know why they chose to build there. Facebook thinks they can pay enough to protect themselves.â€
At current projections, a 1.6-foot rise in sea levels by the end of the century – which is at the lower end scientists estimates – would envelop the campus.
Google’s Mountain View location and Cisco’s spot in San Jose could see them avoid the floods if water levels rose by the conservative estimate above.
However, looking at more extreme projections of sea level rises – which estimate as much as a six foot rise – would wipe out both campuses.
Airbnb’s spot in the Mission district will have a Bay side view as a result of global warming.
Source: The Next Web
