Technically not correct. Sea levels have continued over the last 20 years to rise at a rate of approximately 3 mm/year, as they had for about 120 years.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Current_sea_level_rise#mediaviewer/File:Trends_in_global_average_absolute_sea_level,_1870-2008_(US_EPA).png
That means that over the last 20 years they've risen about 60mm, or about 2.4 inches.
This may be an over-estimate by as much as half, according to other sources. But that would still give us more than an inch over the 20 years. :)
Here's the best compilation of understandable data on sea level change that I've seen.
http://notrickszone.com/2011/02/16/a-level-look-at-sea-levels/
http://notrickszone.com/2011/02/16/a-level-look-at-sea-levels/
is a good link. However, it only provides corrections for glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA). It doesn’t provide for subsidance.
People sometimes build cities on recovered land (like Boston), or on the edge of impact craters (Norfolk, VA), or swampland (like New Orleans). As these cities sink, water depth markers give the impression of rising seawater.
Cities like Los Angeles are built near tectonically active areas. Sea levels can go up or down beyond the GIA adjustment.
It is quite muddy to ascertain sea level change. But the good article you linked to shows that, if there is anything sea level rise at all, it is quite slow.
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/kids/scientists/index.html
From another EPA site:
Did you know that thousands of measurements of the Earth’s air, water, and land are taken every day? These measurements come from weather stations, airplanes, ships, satellites, and many other sources all around the globe. Taken all together, these measurements and other observations tell us that the Earth’s climate is warming, people are the main cause, and impacts on society and the environment are already happening people are the main cause, and impacts on society and the environment are already happening.
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The above is simply NOT true. But it’s EPA stuff aimed at children so they don’t have to go out of their way to make it sound ‘scientific’. Sherman - did you know your first link was EPA related?
“Sea levels have continued over the last 20 years to rise at a rate of approximately 3 mm/year”
It boggles my mind that we can measure 3 mm per year ....