Facebook and Google are reportedly in peril of being consumed by rising sea levels, according a gaggle of scientists interviewed for a recent piece in the Guardian. This also goes for much of the property in Silicon Valley and San Francisco. Gulp.
The Guardian says of Facebook's new Menlo Park campus:
Without significant adaptation, Facebook’s new campus appears most at risk. The 430,000 sq ft complex – topped with a nine-acre garden rooftop – is an extension of its Menlo Park base and was crafted by architect Frank Gehry. Located near the San Francisco Bay shoreline, the offices are designed to house 2,800 staff.
“Facebook is very vulnerable,” said Lindy Lowe, a senior planner at California’s Bay Conservation and Development Commission. “They built on a very low site – I don’t know why they chose to build there. Facebook thinks they can pay enough to protect themselves.
And although Facebook elevated its new headquarters to alleviate any potential flooding over the next few decades, "even with a 1.6ft rise in sea levels by the end of the century...the area around it will be inundated." Yikes.
And don't think you're in the clear, Google. Because:
The situation is a little better for Google, located in Mountain View...and Cisco, headquartered in San Jose. But should the Antarctic ice sheet disintegrate, as outlined in a recent scientific paper, seas will be pushed up beyond 6ft and swamp both businesses.
And finally, we're doomed in SoMa and downtown San Francisco. Poor Salesforce and Airbnb, the former of which recently opened new headquarters, will allegedly face the worst. Brace yourselves:
The situation is similarly stark for Salesforce, which would see its San Francisco base submerged under the worst sea level rise scenario. Meanwhile, Airbnb, located near the vulnerable Mission Bay area, will have its headquarters gain a much closer bayside view simply by staying put.
Hopefully, by then, we will all be living on Mars or hovering hundreds of miles above, Jetsons-style. Failing that, we predict the High Sierras to be the hot new tech capital of 2116.