U.S. Not Doing Enough to Protect Coral Reefs

[Boogie711]

Lets look at it this way, heating up will cause the desert land to spread into what are currently fertile areas. Ice caps melting will flood many areas - think India and Eygpt (maybe even Louisiana and Holland) completely underwater now (places with major delta areas or low lying) - which would give us less land to live on or grow things on. Yes more areas to dive. BTW how high is Boston off mean water level? Would it be different if you couldnt use the first few floors of a building and had to get to work by boat? It would be a major PITA to get low lying areas above the rising water level (i know the rate of rise would be fairly slow, but would be considerable during a lifetime).

With people moving further inland, flooding farmland, increasing desert areas, the world would probably be worse off and some will die due to this strain on providing food for people - the only people definately getting better off would be underatakers - always a job for them until the last person on this earth dies!! Other people who might gain are the construction industry to repair or replace buildings eventually going underwater.

While it's easy to trivialize the comment, RCohn makes an interesting point, if not a philosophical one.

If humans are evil and causing global warming, and global warming will eventually kill many people, isn't that therefore a good thing? After all, the earth will still be here, right, but the nasty humans living in oceanfront states will be gone (as in NY and LA.)

If you choose to dispute this statement, are you not therefore conceding that human progress is more important than a natural environment? And I do say natural environment, since every scientist concedes the earth is warming anyway?

Talk amongst yourselves.

 

[simbrooks]

Ah stuff it, just drop nukes everywhere, kill all the human scum and be done with it, save the middle man and the earth can get back to regenerating itself much sooner before we all die off more naturally.

I understand the philosophy of what he said and have had the discussion many times during those times at college etc - it didnt really lead to anything being done about the whole mess though.

 

[chrisch]

The earth is a big lump of rock in space. It will be here when we're gone. SO our progress is more important since the big lump of rock can look after itself. That's what's wrong with so much the environmentalist argument. Trouble is we need the environment to favour us (as opposed to say jellyfish).
Some places might be better in future some not. Chaos theory tells us it is hard to predict and that pisses me off as I don't know where to buy my next house...
Chris

 

[simbrooks]

Aim high, out of floodplains, and away from places of current high natural disaster rates as they will only get worse - at least those with fewer natural disasters will only get a little worse (you hope). Some of us arent lucky enough to be able to afford a house yet!

 

[chrisch]

What?? You are in Florida and cannot afford a house!!!!! Surely all Americans are driving a big SUV and have loads of money and eat McDonalds and wear golf trousers and chew tobacco and go Jeez all the time and have a big camera round their neck and have a wife called Mabel...
Or is that a sterotype??
Kinda, sorta, nearly like english uh huh?? Say what?
Chris

 

[simbrooks]

I havent got that type of stereo

A recent (2.5 years) import into the country from UK, straight out of 5 years of uni/college where i amassed great debt paying for 2 degrees. I have a mid-sized car that gets me from A-B, just about, hate McD's with a passion, golf is the same - hence wouldnt be caught dead wearing that stuff, gave up smoking 3 years ago, my only large camera is the UW kind (pain to put around your neck unless UW).

Do i take it you are fashionable, wearing all this years clothing in Milan - no probably not as you are English too and couldnt put two similarly coloured items together to make an ensemble! Or at least that is my trouble, but i dont wear socks and sandals like most tourists (either American or English), so that is a good start!

 

[archman]

The #1 direct effect of global warming on the human population is coastal flooding and erosion. Over 3/4ths of the world population lives in a coastal area right now, and that trend is getting higher, not lower. There is also a steady urbanization of the population, where people are leaving the country and packing in tighter amongst cities (reminding me of the saying "misery loves company" ha ha ).
There are MANY coastal flooding problems going on RIGHT NOW due to rising sea level. Italy and Louisiana are two of the more dramatic case studies. With rises in air and sea temperatures, you exacerbate sea level rise. Man's solution to this? We spend enormous amounts of time and money trying to hold onto flooded locales. Time will tell if that strategy is practical in the long term. It probably won't work for the town of Sargent in Texas, if anyone's seen THAT place. Wow...

 

[Kim]

One other effect from global warming is that it can also get a lot COLDER!! The predictions surrounding the melting of the Arctic ice cap suggest that the Gulf Stream could be shifted a long way south. The result of this will be severe mean temperature drops in Northern Europe - especially the UK. The resulting change in the ecological systems in the region is hard to predict. However - I doubt if we'll see any more French wine for instance (ok - not a really major issue - just an example!!)

As far as coastal flooding goes - I'd hate to have to try to build dikes to protect the Maldives!!

As a point of interest - they are releasing the film 'The Day after Tomorrow' in Japan today. While I realize that it's just a movie - according to a documentary I saw about making it, the events which in the film happen over a two week period could easily happen for real over a 10 year period. Discovery channel in Japan is doing a week special on this stuff at the end of this month. One of the programmes is a dramatization of the consequences of an F5 tornado in Dallas - I wait with interest!.
Did anyone see the film?

 

[Boogie711]

As a point of interest - they are releasing the film 'The Day after Tomorrow' in Japan today. While I realize that it's just a movie - according to a documentary I saw about making it, the events which in the film happen over a two week period could easily happen for real over a 10 year period. Discovery channel in Japan is doing a week special on this stuff at the end of this month. One of the programmes is a dramatization of the consequences of an F5 tornado in Dallas - I wait with interest!.
Did anyone see the film?

I doubt it. It's not due for release until the end of the month. I wrote a column about the film last week. If the events in the film could "easily happen for real over a 10 year period" can you please explain to me how earthquakes are caused by global warming?

 

[Kim]

I doubt it. It's not due for release until the end of the month. I wrote a column about the film last week. If the events in the film could "easily happen for real over a 10 year period" can you please explain to me how earthquakes are caused by global warming?

My mistake!! I misread the month - release date is 5/6 not 5/5.

I never said earthquakes are caused by global warming!! I haven't seen the film so all I know so far is that it's about severe climate change etc. On the other hand - earthquakes are related to volcanic activity, and volcanos, as you have correctly already pointed out, are another factor in global warming.
BTW - what did your column have to say about the film? (I'm genuinely interested!)