Antarctic Ice Thaw To Flood For Decades Even Without Global Warming
Global warming does not account for the Antarctic’s Pine Island Glacier thaw dumping water into the ocean for the foreseeable decades or longer, whether or not global warming persists and whether or not human societies change their energy consumption patterns. It happened at least once before, according to glacier scientists, and it is happening again right now. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/20/us-climate-antarctica-idUSBREA1J1V620140220
The consequences of the big thaw cannot be overstated. They include rising coastal shores across every continent, meaning evacuation of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of homes; relocation of flood refugees to higher ground; and likely tensions as refugee numbers mount in places where available land remains scarce. http://www.climatecodered.org/2010/01/pine-island-glacier-loss-must-force.html
That’s just the tip of the consequences, however. With the net increase in ocean water, the capacity of the planet to store energy increases, meaning weather patterns will shift, first along coasts, but soon, that is, within a few decades, across plains, along the mountain ranges, and in every jungle, desert, and steppe region there is. http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/v4/n2/full/nclimate2094.html
Here at http://HamiltonFinanceServices.com historically we have joined with other organizations to promote awareness of global warming trends, accepting the predominant sentiment that if societies could change their energy consumption patterns, effects of warming might be delayed, minimized, or better, controlled. http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/fcons/fcons4.asp With the latest reports of Antarctic thawing on Pine Island, however, a new priority has emerged. We, meaning all of humanity, must move away from coastal shores en masse…NOW.
That’s the view in our corner, but what do you think?
hamilton.jerry
Well… that’s a cheery prospect. My wife and I live dab-smack on the coast, about a football field in distance from the beach. Guess we’d better have a discussion with our son about moving us to higher ground. :p
And my wife and I envy your location for a residence. We think of San Diego, CA, USA, as some of the best real estate around, but because of family ties we reside in Wisconsin and just visit other places as frequently as possible. The ugly fact of life is that coastal dwelling will be destroyed in the next three to five decades. That might let you and me off the hook, but our kids and grand kids need to take this threat seriously.
Ah… three to five decades pretty much is a life-saver (ironically). Still… higher ground might be advisable even in the interim.
May be we are lucky – as I have read that the snowfalls in the interior of the Antarctic are way higher than in the last decades thanks to the global warming.
-20°C hot air (that is hot in comparison to the usual temperatures there), that occasionally floats inside, can carry way more humidity …
… but if it should come to the worst and the sea level will indeed raise: I live a bit more than 200m above sea level – I think I have some time left before I have to buy a boat.
If I could afford to buy a nice boat, I wouldn’t worry one way or the other about high water; I’d love to float around the globe…if I didn’t fear pirates and bad storms so much. On second thought, keep the boat and I’ll move to the mountains.
Hi Jerry, I wasn’t aware of this informative post; I made a similar one today. Handsome old guys think alike! 😉