2007-08-23 22:21:36 · 11 answers · asked by paricric 1 in Environment ➔ Global Warming
i'd immediately clip the news article and put it up on my fridge. right next to the one from 1972 that said :
" scientific community warns: by the year 2000 arizona would be under a 10 foot glacier due to man's use of fossil fuels"
2007-08-24 02:47:38 · answer #1 · answered by afratta437 5 · 2⤊ 3⤋
An interesting question. 2020, eh? Well the climate is a closed system governed by the rules of chaos, that was inherently stable until humans destablized it. So nobody knows what will happen, except that whatever we do between now and then will also affect it.
If Manila is under water in 2020 a lot of America will be too. The most important part will be the return of the Kansas-Nebraska sea. That takes in everything from the Gulf of Mexico to Montana, west to the Rockies, and east at least to the Mississippi. That sea has returned several times with the natural warming and cooling, and we know all that's required is the melting of the North Polar cap and some of the mountain glaciers. Since we know that the North Polar cap will be gone by 2050 and ALL of the mountain glaciers before then, AND that the South Polar cap is also melting as fast as theoretically possible (for the first time) we can be pretty sure we'll at least have our old familiar inland sea back again. Probably Florida and some other things too.
Reaction? Similar to a day or a week after Pearl Harbor. Everyone rushing around trying to undo the damage done by the foolish position taken earlier. Everybody blaming it on everybody else for not seeing it coming. Just the USA in business as usual mode. It was several years after Pearl before the USA could do any good at all for Manila. It'll probably be longer this time.
2007-08-24 14:15:44 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
That seems a little too soon.
But you're right that the combination of land subsidence (possibly due to removing ground water), and sea level rise from global warming, leave Manila particularly vulnerable among large cities of the world.
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2007/apr/30/yehey/metro/20070430met5.html
They are likely to cause the need for major changes to the city and the surrounding low lying agricultural lands. The expense will be enormous.
2050 might be a better guess than 2020. But it's uncertain. Here are some projections:
http://www.cru.uea.ac.uk/~mikeh/research/philippines.pdf
A Filipino American scientist is one of the leaders in global warming research at NASA. No doubt he feels a strong interest in his work with regard to his homeland, and he travels back frequently.
http://www.asianjournal.com/?c=124&a=22190
EDIT - People who are posting here and giving flip answers may want to first learn some basic facts about Manila and the agricultural lands nearby. It really is a very vulnerable location.
2007-08-24 10:14:40 · answer #3 · answered by Bob 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Who can predict the future? Scientists make efforts to appreciate what may be coming, but the accuracy is yet to come.
2007-08-27 22:46:56 · answer #4 · answered by kayneriend 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
who will see 2020. we donot know what happens to us next second.
2007-08-26 08:12:51 · answer #5 · answered by nomoreiaminthisworld 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My reaction is that the paper got it wrong.
2007-08-24 10:01:50 · answer #6 · answered by campbelp2002 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Oh, H*ll! Here we go once more! ... Is Al Gore on the loose without his meds again??
2007-08-24 12:17:40 · answer #7 · answered by Big Jon 5 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Obviously a bit of alarmist crap.
2007-08-24 12:43:45 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
i will say did the patriots win last night let me see
2007-08-24 12:26:36 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
"will sink"?
Little problem with concept?
2007-08-24 08:09:40 · answer #10 · answered by Snoonyb 4 · 1⤊ 3⤋