--- title: "Hundreds of Thousands of American Homes Will Be Swallowed by the Sea, Scientists Say" description: "A new analysis has determined that by current emissions, roughly 4.4 million acres of land and 650,000 individual properties will be underwater by 2050." date: "2022-09-10" modified: "2022-09-10" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/thousands-american-homes-swallowed-sea" categories: - "Climate Change" - "Environment" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "climate change" - "emissions" - "sea level rise" - "the digest" --- # Hundreds of Thousands of American Homes Will Be Swallowed by the Sea, Scientists Say ![A new analysis has determined that by current emissions, roughly 4.4 million acres of land and 650,000 individual properties will be underwater by 2050.]() *\Image: Smiley N. Pool-Pool/Getty Images\* ## New Atlantis Owners of [coveted coastal properties](), beware. According to a [new analysis]() published this week by the research nonprofit Climate Central, roughly 4.4 million acres of land and 650,000 individual properties will be below sea level by the year 2050, based on current emission levels. Needless to say, that's [a staggering amount of lost land]() and money — a shocking illustration of the devastating effects of climate change. "As the sea is rising, tide lines are moving up elevation, upslope and inland," Don Bain, the senior adviser at Climate Central who led the study, [told *The Washington Post*](). "People really haven't internalized that yet — that 'Hey, I'm going to have something taken away from me by the sea.'" ## Tax Woes As far as the United States is concerned, Louisiana is the most vulnerable state. According to the Climate Central's models, over 25,000 properties could be completely submerged by 2050 in the state alone. In fact, Isle de Jean Charles, which is located off the coast of South Louisiana and home to the [Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw](), is already [98 percent underwater](). But the research doesn't just address how much land will physically be gone — it also addresses the potential ramifications of that loss from a very grounded lens: property value. Affected land assets would total *at least* $108 billion in collective value by the century's end, which could have plenty of other knock-on effects. "Diminished property values and a smaller tax base," reads the analysis, "can lead to lower tax revenues and reduced public services — a potential downward spiral of disinvestment and population decline, reduced tax base and public services, and so on." With lower tax revenue, local governments will also have less money to invest in any meaningful climate mitigation. ## Mitigation Station But the researchers aren't totally without hope. While humans will almost certainly need to adapt to rising sea levels, some mitigation is still possible. "If we get our act together, we can get to a lower curve, and that buys us time," Bain told *WaPo*. "We don't want \[seas\] rising so fast that it outpaces our capacity to adapt." **READ MORE:** [*Rising seas could swallow millions of U.S. acres within decades*]() \[*The Washington Post*\] **More on rising seas:** [*Now "Inevitable" That Greenland's Ice Cap Will Melt and Cause Major Sea-level Rise, Scientists Warn*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()