Commentary Environmental activists, mainstream media outlets, and many scientists routinely claim governments must take drastic action to prevent rapidly rising seas. They claim unless humans are forced to stop using fossil fuels, low-lying islands and coastal areas will soon be swamped beneath the waves. To back up their claims, they cite statements (pdf) from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) asserting it is “very likely” sea level rise has accelerated since the middle of the 20th century in response to warming caused by rising greenhouse gas emissions. The IPCC, however, bases its claim on computer model projections instead of measured, real-life data. Data lend little support to the claim seas are rising at a historically unusual or increasingly rapid rate. Global sea levels have risen by approximately 400 feet since the beginning of the end of the most recent ice age (approximately 20,000 years ago). Historically, sea levels have fluctuated over …