More Sea Level Incorrect Sea Level Blame

Yesterday's Wall Street Journal had an article about the issues Amtrak is having on its segment from Los Angeles to San Diego. I used to personally make forecasts for that line dating back to 1989.

The article begins:

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif.—The Pacific Surfliner train runs along some of the most spectacular coastline in America, traversing Southern California bluffs and beaches while ocean waves crash on the golden sand nearby.

Soon, some fear it might fall into the ocean.

Rising sea levels and powerful storms are eating away at the ground holding up the tracks on the second most popular Amtrak rail corridor in the U.S. The route runs 351 miles from San Diego through Los Angeles to California’s Central Coast and is also used by freight and commuter trains. [emphasis mine]

We talked about this last week. The sea level remark is a ridiculous statement 

Here is the nearest NOAA water level gauge data (Los Angeles):

At the current rate, it will take 94 years to rise to "10" on the ruler. 

The above may or may not be accurately scaled for your computer screen. Click to get an accurate ruler. 

The point is it takes 94 years for sea level to rise approximately the distance from your little finger to index finger!

Sea level rise has nothing to do with Amtrak's issues on the West Coast!