Up and down the mid-Atlantic coast, sea levels are rising rapidly, creating stands of dead trees known as ghost forests. The water is gaining as much as 5 millimeters per year in some places, above the global average of 3.1 millimeters, driven by environmental shifts. Increasingly powerful storms push seawater inland. More intense dry spells reduce freshwater flowing outward. All of this allows seawater to claim new territory, killing trees from the roots up. (New York Times)