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Rising CO2 Will Cause Catastrophic Sea Level Rise Finds Antarctic Study
Sea levels could rise by up to six metres if the world fails to get pollution under control, according to the latest study in the Antarctic.
The British Antarctic Survey found that during past periods of high carbon dioxide, temperatures in Antarctica were up to 6C above current levels. This could cause a sea level rise of up six metres, threatening coastal cities like London, New York and San Francisco.
In this Nov. 5, 2009, photo provided by the Australian Antarctic Division, a large iceberg spotted off Macquarie Island, about 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) southeast of Australia, mid-way between Antarctica and Australia. It is a rare sight in waters so far north, Australian scientists said Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009.
(AP Photo/Australian Antarctic Division, Murray Potter) It is the latest research to warn of the consequences of increased greenhouse gases on the Earth's climate. Yesterday a study warned that carbon dioxide produced by man is now rising at record rates putting the world on a pathway for a 6C rise in temperature.
All the recent studies are adding pressure on world leader to agree in international deal on climate change at a UN summit in Copenhagen this December.
Louise Sime, lead of the British Antarctic Survey study, looked at ice cores to see how temperatures changed during periods of high carbon dioxide
She found that during the last period of high CO2, 125,000 years ago, temperatures were up to 6C higher than present day levels.
Such a hike in temperature could lead to a rise in sea levels of between 4 to 6 metres over hundreds of years as the ice sheets melt.
"We didn't expect to see such warm temperatures, and we don't yet know in detail what caused them. But they indicate that Antarctica's climate may have undergone rapid shifts during past periods of high CO2."
Dr Sime said the study suggests that current high levels of CO2 could also cause a rise in temperature. She said further research could predict the affect on sea level rise.
"If we can pin down how much warmer temperatures were in Antarctica and Greenland at this time, then we can test predictions of how melting of the large ice sheets may contribute to sea level rise."
A study out yesterday found that carbon dioxide levels rose by almost a third in the last seven years. The research in Nature Geoscience warned that if the world continues to pump out pollution at such a rate it will cause temperatures to rise by 6C, causing massive droughts, extinction of species and sea level rise.
Today another study added to the urgency by claiming that the oceans are losing their ability to absorb CO2. Samar Khatiwala of Columbia University, found that the proportion of fossil fuel emissions absorbed by the oceans since 200 may have decline by as much as 10 per cent.
"What our ocean study and other recent land studies suggest is that we cannot count on these sinks operating in the future as they have in the past, and keep on subsidising our ever-growing appetite for fossil fuels," he said.
But Dr Wolfgang Knorr, of Bristol University, who has been studying the same subject said there is not yet enough evidence to prove that the Earth is losing its ability to absorb CO2.
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Show AllI believe the corpofascist fiends will meet this challenge head on -- by investing in bioweapons research to reduce the surplus population.
Global Warming is essential to Global Empire.
Today, this most insightful analysis of the purposeful blocking of any action on global warming, entitled “Obama blocks climate change agreement”, was published by WSWS:
“A rational, scientific response to climate change is blocked by the subordination of every aspect of economic and social life to the principle of private profit and the interests of the corporate and financial elite (Empire).”
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/nov2009/pers-n18.shtml
And as early as 2007 a remarkable disclosure of nearly identical deep research reports from the nastiest investment banks; Citi, UBS, and the late Lehmam Brothers, all agreed that Global Warming was a massive an classic example of capitalism greatest 'well-known flaw' (except to Greenspan) of gaming 'negative externality cost dumping' to create faux profits and prop up unsustainable market valuations.
"The UBS and Lehman Brothers reports concur that climate change represents a classic market failure where company valuations neglect to take into account negative externalizations--in this case, predominantly the emission of carbon dioxide CO2, the primary greenhouse gas (GHG)."
http://www.socialfunds.com/news/article.cgi/2237.html
Read 'em and weep --- or better, join the Global People's Movement against Global Empire and world extinction. [Our side, way over 99% of the world's population vs. Empire's side, way under 0.1%].
http://www.opednews.com/articles/-Empire-Elitism-External-by-Alan-MacDonald-090310-224.html
Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine
Thanks for the useful references. Only a fool believes the Global Empire as you aptly call it is unaware of climate change. Only a fool thinks Bushco rejected the idea, even if poor Bush did. Only a fool believes the purpose of the current wars is not intimately connected to climate change.
So, good for the Global People's Movement!
But sorry I cannot count on the Global People's Movement. It needs a leader. The Global Empire also believes in the leader; insists on His Way, which is really their Way. Leaders clamour to lead us. The solution does not lie with them.
The solution lies not in no leaders but in taking leaders down whenever they are useless. The solution lies behind their incessant coming and going. It lies in anarchy; a swelling multitude of wisdom.
Fellows, do not serve The Global Empire or any empire in money or in force. Do what you can do today and every day. Simply do not harm. Do good. Make mistakes and learn. Prepare for the future within your powers of ability and understanding.
Victory is tough but it is ours now. We will go forward.
The Global Empire irrelevant. Its 'power' that it delights in, like its current military adventurism, is in the irrelevance of its stupidity. It can do nothing but harm. It is ironically headless.
Its all a conspiracy theory like: 911,WMD'S, the Gulf of Tonkin attack; JFK,MLK,ect. Samar Khatiwala is just another nut case. The American Government really is: for the people; by the people ; and of the people. They always tell us the truth especially; the MSM!
See? This is exactly what I've been talking about:
"Catastrophic Sea Level Rise..."
Yet something else that is 'collapsing' so to speak...
And the solution? EMERGENCY MEASURES ASAP!
And we humans are, like, "Right. As if the people of the world are gonna suddenly come together to stop that giant building from collapsing at the last second. F**k it - let's party! Or kill ourselves. Either way..."
Seriously, read the above piece again - the solutions clearly will never, ever be implemented in time (you know, by, say, 1998?). So what choice does that leave us?
How does NYC prepare to live submerged 20 feet below New Sea Level? And Miami? NOrleans? Charlotte? D.C.?
If this is a global, unstoppable 911, shouldn't we at least be building relocation cities in Montana and North Minnesota and preparing our coastal dwellers for the big move inland? Talk about a super jobs program!
Nah - it'll be so much cooler if we wait until after the East Coast is swimming for their lives...
"it'll be so much cooler if we wait until after the East Coast is swimming for their lives..."
I find it telling that Allstate Insurance will no longer insure coastal communities on the Eastern Seaboard.
Most people that have beach front property in this country are rich. As sea level rises the rich will loose their beach front properties. Yup, I feel another bailout coming. We can't have the rich loose in the stock market so they get bailed out. So by God we cant have the rich loose their beach front houses.
And don't forget the New London Eminent Domain case that states that private property can be seized for private development. So as the coastlines move inland they will simply seize the land that becomes new ocean front for their own use.
Has far as the poor that will loose their land to these grabs, I'm sure the attitude will be "Let them eat cake!"
Gentle correction: Charlotte is not a coastal, low-lying city. It is about 180 miles inland, at an elevation above 700 feet above sea level.
"...the proportion of fossil fuel emissions absorbed by the oceans since 200 may have decline by as much as 10 per cent."
Say again? So fossil fuels and their emissions have been around for over 1800 years? (No wonder our high tech lives have finally caught up to us.) Looks like The Telegraph/UK has laid off its copy editors. Verb tense mixing prevails as well: "may have decline".
But Dr Wolfgang Knorr provides the key point, there at the end. Not enough evidence, more studies needed, no need to be hasty and worried about anything. This is what the Obama team will take to Copenhagen next month, if they bother showing up at all, which I doubt. The oceans haven't YET risen six meters, so what's the fuss all about? Let's regulate CO2 emissions to around .0001% of what the preponderant science so far is saying we MUST do to avert disaster. It'll be as smashing a legislative success as the magnificent health insurance "reform" bill they're shoving down our throats. Obama can flash his toothy grin as he signs both meaningless bills, the corporate media will gasp at his political courage in the face of naysayers and willingness to go to the mat to save the world and insure that all Americans have good health care. As the sea levels rise, we can celebrate Change We Can Drown In, and be giddy over the fact that millions and millions of us still can't see a doctor for anything.
People cannot afford health care insurance. So, pass a law that requires them to buy health care insurance. Problem solved.
CO2 is building up in the atmosphere and causing global warming. Well, people exhale carbon dioxide. So, pass a law that people must stop breathing for at least four hours a day. Problem solved.
And what percent of CO2 rise is due to people breathing? (since you know that preventing breathing for a few hours a day will solve the GW problem).
If you can't tell me, then you are posting bvllsh*t and asking the rest of us to take you seriously. As I said to another: thanks for absolutely NOTHING.
This is a real issue, and worthy of more than you posting your bravado bvllsh*t. Seriously. Stop posting if you have nothing more to add to the discussion than your cr*p.
Kent Shaw and "Frredom Man" (who can't even spell his own name) are a couple of jokers, comedian trolls who only want to turn this thread into a comedy stage. Their comments are only meant to trivialize the whole issue.
Of course you can't see a doctor with BushObamacare, Ephraim. Health care is only for the rich.
Silly Rabbit! Tricks are for Kids!
But if it makes you feel any better, most designer molecules passing for Big Pharma drugs have never been tested on animals or humans. This means that FDA rubber-stamping crap like cellebrex makes YOU the lab rabbit.
A nice thin smile crosses my face every time I thing about the bush grandchildren popping out with two heads since the criminal clan has been gulping down Big Pharma experimental drugs with abandon that common citizens can't afford. (Recall that they hate science and love only profit.) I guess the Big SkyGod will protect them. Since we're going to have ANOTHER generation of Bushmonkeys destroying the world any day now, at least their brain power will have doubled. Or we can kill the multi-headed hydra before it kills us (a figure of speech). I think Kivas is right: Swine Flu was apparently a "recombination" of at least six different viruses. Baxter labs admitted "accidently" shipping mislabeled H1N1 to hundreds of labs all over the world. Made the drug labs rich: but then they didn't even show up with the vaccine on time and in sufficient quantities. And many docs say it's a risky vaccine. (We probably get a different version than Wall Street does.) Thank goodness for that big federal government which is rotten to the core.
We are supposed to be on a Democratic Planet here. We should Democratically decide how to curb CO2 or how to meet our demise. It should not be up to the Robber Barons who couldn't make a good decision if they even tried.
TJ
"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent." - Thomas Jefferson
well you better use ObamaCare Or ELSE It's PRISON for YOU hahahahahaha because Obama really loves everybody! NOT - Obama loves Wall Street and DICK Cheney making trillions so they are going to fill the prisons with all the people who don't want to use Obama's forced healthcare.
Go ahead kiddies, take your H1N1 vaccines too
and STOP breathing because CO2 is BAD for the planet hahahahahaha
but give ALL your money to AL GORE so he can become SUPER RICH! hahahahahahaha
I know for a fact that Obomba IS showing up .Don't be so hard on him.He's bringing his snake oil .Didn't work in China but he's hoping this time will be a charm and he wants to promote houseboats as a solution.
Oh Thank Heaven ILA!
Super Obombination to the rescue with his FEMA houseboats! (the ones without drain plugs made by the Chicago Mob out of asbestos hazmat.)
"Yes you can" (Drown, Starve, Choke, Bleed; he doesn't care.)
"A study out yesterday found that carbon dioxide levels rose by almost a third in the last seven years."
Something is incredibly wrong with the above statement from the article. The definitive carbon dioxide measurements taken at Mauna Loa show that the total increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from 1958 (when measurements were first made) through 2008 has only been about 22 percent. It couldn't possibly have increased by 33 percent in the last seven years.
Someone has made a very big mistake.
Jim Shea
Reference clearly was to current annual emission levels of CO2.
Confusing annual emissions with "carbon dioxide levels" shows the reporter is not very fluent in climate science.
Okay everybody, on the count of 3 HOLD YOUR BREATHE, and NEVER BREATHE Again!
1 - 2 ...
yea, CO2 aka Carbon, aka what we exhale as Human Beings, what plants inhale,
yea, thats what's causing all the problems of the environment.
Oh and those Carbon Taxes is also what's making Al Gore really RICH!
Can someone explain how paying Gore is going to save the world?
remember, Don't EXHALE or else YOU Killed the earth!
hyperbole. thanks for nothing.
Not only hyperbole, but *ignorant* hyperbole.
Thank you Mr. Wizard...
Now please explain that since humans are made of 99% water, if I hold your head under it indefinately you will survive.
I still don't see anyone explaining to me how paying Al Gore and the rest of the Globalists more of OUR money in the form of TAXATION - how this is going to solve any problems in the world. Once again, please explain!
'Are you still beating your wife?' is the same kind of question. Who's paying Al Gore anything? Cap n Trade, instituted in Europe in 2005 has, by last measure, been found to work on carbon outputs. I prefer a straight carbon tax, and rebates to taxpayers so that the carbon tax is revenue neutral (i.e. it only changes behavior). The longer we wait for these kind of activities, the more likely your fear of 'draconian measures' becomes the reality. Cap n Trade had the promise, at least, of working with our capitalistic investment behaviors, to put a price on carbon. But, recently, seeing how WallStreet insiders gamed the derivatives market, people are understandably leery about creating a special market in carbon. I believe it worked for CFCs.
The fact that you exhale CO2 doesn't mean cr*p. I'm surprised you felt it necessary to post it.
Great post Hebrew12,
You deftly dissected the real problem: Trusting so-called "free-trade" on wall street to run this carbon credit system. If they can't even be trusted not to invade countries for oil, if they can't even be trusted not to bribe politicians to pass destructive law, then how can we trust them as custodians of the planet?
What's missing is Presidential Leadership. We need a Kennedy to challenge us to the Moon. We need a visionary to challenge industry to develop cheap solar cells made from aluminum foil (already in development at First Solar) so that every citizen's roof and wall can supply the daytime grid. We need a President that will re-tool Detroit for efficient mass transit.
Instead we have a Corporate Stooge for President. Talk about a lost opportunity.
TJ
"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent." - Thomas Jefferson
FrredomMan, It's too late to turn things around. Future generations will live live with the fallout of our actions.
If you have kids now or plan to have them in the future, I think it would be nice if you recorded your insightful thoughts on Global Climate Change, and maybe throw in your views on energy, and other resource issues. You know, kind of a time capsule. Throw in some tapes of Rush saying that Gore is a nut and there is no such thing as global climate change, and we should be able to burn as much oil as we want. And also throw in a copy of an "An Inconvenient Truth", and maybe a copy of the Climate Scientists web site. And don't forget to let them know you were on Limbaughs side of the argument.
In a hundred or a hundred and fifty years it will help your great ancestors to understand why their world is in the state it will be in. If you're right and this is all just a crazy conspiracy, your ancestors will realize you were a man ahead of your time, and will honor your memory. If your views turn out to be wrong you will thought of as a fool, and your memory will only bring hate and distain to them because they will realize you helped squander the planet that will then be theirs.
Don't you think it would be cool for your ancestors to know the kind of man you are now? Are you game? Do you even care?
Limbaugh?
No, I think NOT.
But by Charging people a TAX aka the Carbon Tax aka Cap & Trade is NOT going to save the environment.
Thats is only going to take away MORE of Yours and my Money - another TAX - then to go with the coming INFLATION.
and oh yea all those taxes Obama said he wasn't going to raise, that he LIED about.
What about ObamaCare - You either get it or you go to PRISON!
who owns those prisons? Dick Cheney's son in Law is a top guy with I.C.E.
Oh, and what happens when they pass the Copenhagen Treaty - What, No More American Sovereignty!
oh and how about Codex Alimentarius. Your Loving BIG Government doesn't want you to take Vitamins any more because they want to support the Pharmicudical Industrial Complex - and make you take all their genetically modified concoctions.
No my friend, I am down with solving REAL issues, like ENDing the not-so-federal reserve - the one that is devaluing our money supply, creating the highest level of unemployment since the Great one - Oh, but wait a second, we are in a "JOBLESS Recovery" what the heck is a JOBLESS Recovery?
Seems while you silly people argue over Polar Bears Not being able to swim - who thought that one up ? LOL
The Government boys and their Wall St Buddies and Too Big To Fail Corporate Cronies are robbing the people of this country and the world blind - while selling you copies of Mr Get Rich Gores Inconvenient LIES - I mean"truth"
giving you guys your DUMB DOWN H1N1 vaccines
Why don't you grow a mind and start using it. And see the proverbial wool they pulled down over your eyes and wake up and realize if we don't END the FED and rebuild a manufacturing base in this country that we are ALL doomed, you me and the polar bears!
There is NO WAY to fix the climate the environment or the economical system until we get these crooks out of Washington DC!
The discussion was about climate change. You are ranting about all kinds of things that are not related to the discussion. I even agree with some of your comments while others make no sense at all.
But if we could do what we said in your final statement we would go a long way to solving most of our problems. Unfortunately I don't see that happening. Corporate money owns the media, and so quite easily manipulates public opinion to their liking. We are all in the proverbial toilet and Wall Street has its hand of the flush lever, Once they can dream up their next big scam they will pull the handle and the whole stinking economy is going to go right down the bowl. It's going to happen and nobody in the government is going to do anything to stop it.
Well. there is your first problem..you should not be sending your annual tax payment cheque to Al Gore....
And yes..the human body converts oxygen to CO2 and expells it...it also converts food to shit and expells it...but I do not think you would be happy living in my septic tank.
mujeriego,
A priceless retort! You made my morning.
TJ
"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent." - Thomas Jefferson
Be Quiet Silly!
I don't think that V P Gore is concerned about making money as much as a lot of people I can think of.
Of course Al is concerned about his money love affair.How else can he expect to pay $55,000 monthly for his mansion's light bill.
Allow me to repeat myself ...
This battle has already been lost. It is now a matter of just how bad it'll get and how fast it'll happen and who and what will be standing, er, floating when it's over.
The GW deniers control the resources and the megaphone, the Congress and the White House.
Meanwhile, USA-ers live lives that have been free of the actual experience of catastrophic war, disease, famine, and all the other horsemen.
Never actually having been IN a train wreck, they are mesmerized by the spectacle of one. They are fascinated with images of Armageddon, whether described in the Bible or brought to them on the IMAX screen.
The visceral attraction of imagining and watching a catastrophe is overwhelming, especially when your real life is steadily sinking deeper into the crapper.
Let's face it -- climate change scenarios are captivating. It'll be so COOL to be ALIVE to see it ...
... and then get Raptured away at the appropriate moment, of course.
Yup you're right. And it's going to be REAL bad for LOTS of people. But like alway the rich have little concern for things like this. They will have enough money to relocate to parts of the planet that will still be habitable. Maybe this is what the last big bailout was for. To be sure they have enough money to buy whatever part of the world stays habitable then to be able to set up an army of goons to protect them from the dying masses.
They're probably already building their mansions on that mountain the Ark was supposed to have landed on.
Timing the move to the private island/fortress will be the challenge.
Too early and they're isolated and advertised, or in the wrong spot, too late and their money will be unreachable/worthless.
Surface travel - impossible.
Air travel - massive atmosphereic icing, no fuel, and the pilots will want to bring their families.
Oceans - pirates.
Their only hope is to use their wealth to save everybody, make the whole planet an ark, or ark system in many places.
"Their only hope is to use their wealth to save everybody, make the whole planet an ark, or ark system in many places."
IMHO that will never happen. These people are sociopaths. That idea will never even enter into their minds.
Well then.
Plan B: Eat the Rich...well-marbled, juicy.
LOL, Seriously LOL!
Unless methane clasts kick in, I'm hopeful the worst will be 3ft of sea level rise before humanity gets the message and prevents another 3 ft on top of that.
But, the big If IS methane, from clasts and melting permafrost. Humanity is playing a big gamble on those effects, and I can't discern from whence the bravado? What the h*ll do we know about these effects? Seems a stupid risk to play with your own grandchildren, but there's no plumbing the depths of the rightwing mind.
We may also realize that it isn't going to happen like a bathtub filling up- there will be:
Problems with commercial air travel due to icing at altitude and super-cooled water droplets lower down.
Problems with power grid due to ice storms.
Commercial shipping, due to rogue waves and storms.
Tectonic activity due to shifting water mass from ice sheets and glaciers to the equatorial bulge, and the associated tsunamis.
A mess, really.
Guess the disaster capitalists will come out all right, tho...
Personally, I am buying up near-coastal property located at 6.5 meters above current sea level...and soon...presto! instant beachfront!
Bwahahaha!
This isn't the worst real estate idea. Look for sandy ocean or bay cliffs that will be eroded by the next big storm surge or waves. Buy one lot back from the cliff front. Sell before the second big storm hits, and buy one lot farther back.
Dang It! I bought mine at 12 meters elevation. Just missed having floating docks. Well, it's off to the backyard to do some major burning..... bwahahahaha!
Sorry, sicko humor is all that will soothe....
TJ
"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent." - Thomas Jefferson
Yeah, the typo in the 3rd paragraph made me wonder where this was published ; amateur work.
'...since 200...'? What, B.C. ? Whatever.
Its true the economics of disaster are very interesting, anyone read about the Erika paradox ? The idea is that the cost of fixing disasters is actually fantastic for the economy ! How's that for news !?
The Americans always list the AMERICAN cities that will be under water, even this brit 'journalist' listed 2 American cities out of 3 of the entire world risking wet feet. Has anyone been to Venice ? Get a life ! And see it before its gone, you may actually discover a kind of awe and respect for the achievements of humankind... in perfect balance with its' stupidity.
Closer to home: Waikiki (3ft above sea level), will be underwater in 20 years (my opinion).
Fly there soon, cuz the Honolulu Airport is only 3 ft above sea level also...
That's not the worst news.
My husband is a biologist and attended a Int'l Global Warming Conference last year.
As the planet warms the clouds will rise and the rain will only hit mountains and not the low lying areas.
If things continue as predicted in 40 years there will be practically NO rainfall on Oahu, the most populated island of Hawaii.
Oahu has very low mountains. Same with Kauai.
You've got to start thinking about these things folks.
Especially when you are making a move to a new area.
I think it's already started to happen. On Many Pacific Island the daily rainfall seems way down. The yearly is about the same though. Cyclonic Weather events are about the same in number, but because the friggin Ocean is over 90 degrees on the surface at the equator it is fueling huge Typhoons and Hurricanes. The rain comes all at once instead of being spread out over the year. Manila was recently destroyed but the MSM decided not to really cover it.
Average cloud bases (bottoms) rising is something I've never really thought about. We see it in "Virga": rain that falls but evaporates before it hits the ground. Aviation weather stations record cloud bases for VFR/IFR operations. It would be interesting to compare them to past years.
TJ
"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent." - Thomas Jefferson
Considering all the unpleasant surprises Mother Nature has been handing the climate scientists, I place no faith in their predictions. When they list all the cities that will be 6 meters under water hundreds of years from now I can only conclude they have not learned from past experience. Everything they have predicted so far has happened faster and been worse than they expected. So now do they think Mother Nature has run out of surprises? I think not.
By the way, mujeriego, I wouldn't be too hasty in buying that almost beachfront property. Along with sea rises, they are also predicting massively violent storms. And it seems to me we weren't hearing about 6 meters just a few years ago. What's next?
When the people fear their government there is tyranny,
when the government fears the people there is liberty.
~ Thomas Jefferson
Two years ago, the official IPCC opinion was that polar ice shelf melting would not impact sea level this century, hence 1.5 ft of sea level rise by end of century.
Last year, oops it does impact, so 3 ft by end of century.
This year, 4 ft (and possible 6 ft) by end of century.
Following the accelerating trend of bad news, I believe 3 ft in 20 years is probably likely.