throw money in the water...
Parts of Holland are below sea level. The ironic thing is that the Dutch have dig up these holes themselves: in order to have fuel in the middle ages, Peat land was harvested, until below groundwater level and beyond. Later the holes ( Polders) were dried by windmill driven pumps, and people started living in the holes, up to 7 meters below sea level.
Now the seawater pushes the groundwater up, and were there is no clay layer stopping this, the water is pushed up to the land. At the same time the land is sinking: the drying causes settling the land at even lower levels, and to keep it dry and compensate, the groundwater level has to be lowered again. And the water is pushed up even harder. With sea level rising this adds to the pressure. This is the general process that's threatening Holland's below sea level areas. The first 'polder" has to be cleared, and given back to the water, since the soil is getting instable more and more, and the land salinates as well. This is causing huge debates with the people living here. Of course. They claim it has been grass land and a job for ages and should remain as such...
At the same time the Dutch are getting slowly aware that living below sea level is not a smart thing, especially in this era. Many solutions are explored and some municipalities are developing floating housing areas, which give some possibilities to adapt to different water levels. Of course , its still not wise to built below sea level, but nevertheless. Floating cities are studied now as well, partially on the sea. However, awareness is growing, and there will be a point that fear will hit, and reach a critical mass among people. And people will want to move out then of the below sea level area. Which will cause a collapse of housing prices as one of the least problems. Now this may sound futuristic or dramatic, it is not: The first ads for houses claiming to be safe , since above sea level, have already been signalised .
The picture (click for larger view) shows one of these house selling ads on a real estate agencies website, , claiming: "Now who still wants a house below sea level? The ice is melting!! Do you want to throw your money in the water??? House in Austerlitz, 8 meters above sea level!!! ("NAP" is sea level)
The first one is over the 'dam ', how many will follow, and how soon?
