A new study shows the cultural implications of climate change...
Could our future be one without the Sydney Opera House?
A new study shows the way we are headed, if current trends in global warming continue unmitigated, could mean the losing some of the world's most well-known and historically significant cultural landmarks including - the Sydney Opera House, the Statue of Liberty in New York City, the Tower of London in the United Kingdom, and ancient archaeological sites such as Pompeii in Italy - because of rising global sea levels over the next 2,000 years.
In fact, of the 720 UNESCO designated world heritage sites, 20% of them could face destruction if global temperatures rise above 3 degrees celsius. .
The cultural dimensions of climate change conversations are not mentioned as frequently as the ecological or economic concerns, but as this research shows the cultural implications could be great.
You may be thinking 2000 years is a long time to be worrying now, but Ben Marzeion from the University of Innsbruck, Austria and lead author of this study says "It's relatively safe to say that we will see the first impacts at these sites in the 21st century." .
Marzeion added that he's "not overly optimistic that culture means more interest in the subject . It's hard to convince people it's a problem if they're not convinced. There appears to be a strong divide between people who feel it is a problem and people who don't."
It's like the old saying you don't know what you've got until it's gone, his sentiments reflecting the thoughts of many people who won't feel convinced climate change is a problem until it's to late.
Yet, culture is very important to many people, and hopefully as all the dimensions of climate change leak into mainstream conversations, more and more people will be inspired to do something.
Cultural revolutions are already taking place everywhere, from the food we choose to eat, to art, design, films, music and more, with a sustainable approach to life being at the centre.