The New York Times this week reported that oceanographers believe “developed low-lying shorelines” such as San Francisco’s Embarcadero face “a possible rise of 14 inches in sea level by 2050″ — just under 40 years from now.

It’s not uncommon to read scientists’ predictions about rising sea levels and the crises they could cause. But to many non-scientists, the practical consequences of such climate alterations are fuzzy. If the oceanographers cited in the Times are correct, our own American shores face a transformative alteration in the immediate future. But just how dramatic would a 14-inch sea level rise be? And how would we see its effects in our everyday lives?

Salon spoke to professor Peter Ward, author of “The Flooded Earth: Our Future in a World Without Ice Caps” (whom we’ve interviewed before), who explained that while a 14-inch sea level rise is frightening enough on its own, it’s the specter of a resulting “storm surge” — and the failure of many local authorities to plan effectively for the future — that actually worries him the most.

“A 14-inch rise isn’t so bad” on its own, Ward argues, “but it’s the 14-inch rise that now is the new starting point for the storm surge” that’s truly worrying. Says Ward: ”Storm surge is a big deal. It comes into play when you have that nasty once-in-a-century — or once in every 10 years, now — storm that hits and erodes a cliff. If you look at it that way, that 14 inches is going to be really catastrophic.

“At least in my state [Washington], most of the railways are right next to the beautiful salt water — and the highways, everything is built at sea level. The 14 inches will be the new jump-off point for storm surge. With those once-in-a-while storms, it’s the level that they start from that is so critical.”

Our ancestors didn’t take these future sea-level changes into consideration when they built railways, highways and airports near the coast because “they believed the earth is totally unchanging.” Indeed, we need to learn from that mistake, he warns; rather than reassuring ourselves that this is a dramatic but one-time rise, we need to recognize that a 14-inch sea level surge is symptomatic of general acceleration.

“We’re builing a $3 billion deepwater tunnel in Seattle that is predicated on the fact that sea level will not rise more than 24 inches in the next 100 years,” he moans. “I yell at these people that they’re completely insane!”

Does he have any words of comfort? “At least California has been thinking about it,” he says. By contrast, “Fourteen inches in Bangladesh is an absolute disaster — a disaster beyond belief.” His message: Regional governments — particularly in coastal danger zones (he singles out Miami Dade County in Florida as one of the most at-risk) — need to consider the sea rise issue carefully, and plan well. The consequences, and the cost, of not doing so could be dramatic.

San Francisco lawmakers have unanimously voted to appoint a veteran city government official as the city’s first Asian-American mayor.

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday named 58-year-old City Administrator Edwin Lee to fill the remainder of Gavin Newsom’s term. Newsom was elected California’s lieutenant governor in November and took office on Monday.

Lee was sworn in immediately following the board’s vote. He will serve as interim mayor until next January, when the winner of this November’s mayoral election will take over. Lee says he doesn’t plan to run.

San Francisco’s population of 815,000 is roughly one-third Asian. With Lee’s appointment, the city is now the largest in the country with an Asian-American leader.

Authorities have arrested a man who reported having a gun and explosives on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

The California Highway Patrol halted all traffic on the upper deck of the span during Thursday’s morning rush hour after the man called in threats around 7 a.m. The patrol told the Contra Costa Times that he reported having a gun and a pipe bomb.

Authorities have not discussed a motive.

Footage from television news helicopters showed the suspect being taken into custody after an hourlong standoff.

The patrol reopened some westbound lanes shortly after 8 a.m. Eastbound lanes on the lower desk remained open during the incident.

An average of 280,000 motorists use Northern California’s busiest bridge each day.

Traffic is at a standstill on the upper deck of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as authorities negotiate with an armed man who called in threats.

The California Highway Patrol says it halted westbound traffic during the morning rush hour Thursday after the man reported having a gun. The patrol tells the Contra Costa Times that he also reported having a pipe bomb.

Footage from television news helicopters shows a man standing outside his SUV near the railing of the bridge while on a cell phone.

Authorities have not discussed a motive.

Eastbound lanes on the lower deck of the span remain open.

An average of 280,000 motorists use the iconic bridge each day.

San Francisco police say at least five people were arrested when celebrations following the Giants’ World Series victory turned rowdy.

Revelers were seen jumping on cars, rocking buses and tossing toilet paper Monday night after the Giants captured their first World Series title since they moved from New York more than a half century ago.

Video from KTVU-TV showed crowds swarming and attacking the occupants of a car in the city’s Mission District before police intervened. A window at the Dugout Store at AT&T Park was also broken, and several fires were started nearby.

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom says the vast majority of people celebrated peacefully and police did a good job of keeping order.

Thousands of orange and black-clad Giants fans hugged and high-fived one other Monday night as the club clinched its first World Series title since moving west more than a half century ago.

As the final out of the 3-1 win was recorded, the thousands watching on a big-screen TV at San Francisco’s Civic Center plaza leapt for joy as City Hall glowed bright orange in the background.

“I have a permanent smile on my face,” said Valerie Nicklas of Berkeley, who partied at another large street gathering near the Giants’ AT&T Park. “This makes all the years of suffering worth it.”