Worried about global warming if the sea level at your place should one day rise by a metre?

Question

What is the worst that can happen to your community, country?
Can something be done now, other than hoping that people will stop burning forests, less vehicles, homes and factories eject harmful gases into the atmosphere, etc?

Answer 1

Fortunately I live on a hill, all the ice in the world could melt and I'd be fine although I would need a boat to visit my brother who would be on the next island and my parents a few islands away.

In terms of the effects on the country - I live in the UK which has a very delicate coastal system at the best of times, much of it is made of clays and chalks which are easily eroded by the sea. There are also several estuaries such as the Thames, Severn and Humber which reach inland by a considerable distance.

A one metre rise in sea levels would be catastrophic and several low lying towns and villages would be inundated partiucularly in the south and east of Engalnd. Large parts of London would be highly susceptible to flooding and millions of people would need to be relocated. Coastal erosion would rapidly accelerate with some areas receding by 100 metres per year or more.

The biggest impact would be an economical one and the cost to the economy would, in the long term, run into trillions of dollars. The shutting down of the London markets would have a disasterous knock on effect on economies across the globe.

Sea levels are slowly rising but the rate at which they're rising is increasing. Since 1961 the rise has been 1.8mm a year, since 1991 it's been 3.1mm a year. It's expected that by the end of the century they'll have risen by 750mm. A little over half the current rise is caused by thermal expansion of the seas and oceans (1.6mm), the melting of the ice sheets accounts for 0.4mm a year and the melting of inland glaciers and ice caps accounts for 0.8mm.

Based on current predictions sea levels will have risen by one metre come the year 2122, give or take either way.

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As to what can be done about it, there's a page here written in plain English that looks at what we can do as individuals and explores briefly some of the approaches that scinentitst are looking into - http://profend.com/global-warming/pages/combat.html

Answer 2

The worst thing is that it is going to sink completely.

Maybe we can't do anything and the whole global warming thing has to do something with the sun winds which have decreased in the last years. That's what I read in some article. I absolutely don't know if that can be true, but I think there's always the possiblity that people are simply wrong about some thing or other.

Answer 3

the sea wont rise by a metre in one day
that will take a few years

but as the gradual changes happen people will either become more aware and stop the emmissions

OR

as the shanges happen people will put up defences against the dangers such as an embankment to stop costal towns flooding

dont worry too much about global warming it wont get too bad untill about 30 years people will realise

its just the media put too much emphasis on it because they make a lot of money from it

Answer 4

Rises in sea level due to the projected melting of ocean ice differs greatly and takes decades to happen. Oceanic thermal expansion takes even longer to raise sea levels.

Should the entire north pole sea ice melt the sea level rise would be zero - so nobody would be affected.

If the ice on Greenland melts the sea level rise would be in the region of 20 to 60 inches - this would cause problems for coastal towns especially regarding weather, flooding, etc.

Antarctica will not melt, as the temperatures there are around minus 37 degree C.

Answer 5

For the midwest USA, it would be the return of the Kansas Nebraska sea. That's happened several times with the melting of the North Polar caps during the earth's natural cycles of heating and cooling. The sea stretches from the Gulf of Mexico up into Canada. We'd probably be an island where I live.

http://www.semp.us/publications/biot_reader.php?BiotID=385

http://www.oceansofkansas.com/

The big question mark is the South Polar Caps, which are melting very fast, due to Global Warming. That's never happened during any of the natural cycles of heating and cooling, so we don't really know how much additional rise in sea levels it will cause.


http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSL2210716920070822

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070825.MELTING25/TPStory/Environment

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/science/20070816-9999-lz1c16grow.html

Answer 6

One of the biggest dangers of so called global warming is over reaction by people who are easily frightened (i.e. all those currently frightened by a projected rise of a degree or two). These alarmists never seem to see any benefits. It is as if they really believe that any change will have only negative consequences. We do not need to inject sulfer in the atmosphere. We do not need to reduce our economies, ride bicycles to work, and sing Kum by yah. If you are in danger of a foot of rise by the sea which is certainly more than you are going to experience in your life, than you built or bought foolishly in a place that was far to low and or close to the sea.

Answer 7

No.

Nor am I worried about a glacier advancing due to global cooling.

Nor am I worried about an asteroid hitting my house.

Nor am I worried about a super-nova wiping out the planet.

Nor am I worried about a giant volcano burrying us in ash.

Nor am I worried about a huge tidal wave washing over.

Answer 8

Not worried. I live well above sea level and plan to do so for the rest of my life.

Answer 9

Does not worry me i live at the top of a hill,Plus we cant do anything about it, mother nature always goes through these cycles

Answer 10

yes something should be done. im so happy for what my mom did today. she always wanted to clear up the back of our house which was full of my dad's old stuff and all.. my dad was busy the whole week so my mom decided to help clear up.. you wouldnt believe all the stuff she found! she trew almost 99% of it tho.. hehe.. there were lots of aluminium tyre rims, empty cans that were kept to recycle but didnt.. so she did!! and im soo happy.. just doing a little will help if everyone does there 'little' part too.. then the whole thing would become big! dont you agree??

hmm, back here in Malaysia the weather is unpredictable.. my mum took me to a show done by Al Gone tittle The Inconvinient Truth.. it really touched my soul.. im so worried now that here its really hot.. now its night time, but the weather.. gosh! feels like day time..

hope we all love planet earth and something can be done.. soon!

love earth!
hema.