Zoltan, here's one bit of objective cost:
How much will the flooding of all coastal land less than 65-70m (about 220') above sea-level cost? That's the amount locked up in the polar caps currently (not counting that the land will rise further, displacing more water, as the weight of ice is removed). Bear in mind that this land tends to be most heavily populated and most fertile. And I don't think Greenland will replace the Mississippi basin as useful cropland, or Florida as a desirable retirement home.
Whatever your 'scientific' arguments about the current degree of warming, the icecaps are fairly objective about it. There's no debate from them. The Earth gets warmer... the icecaps melt.
Since 1992 the interior of the WAIS has lost 31 cubic kilometres of ice. ...Combining the two datasets, they established that the ice had thinned by as much as 10 m. They estimate that the PIG's mass is shrinking by about four Gt (four billion tonnes) annually.
news.bbc.co.uk
Around the world, ice sheets and glaciers are melting at a rate unprecedented since record-keeping began. The Worldwatch Institute, based in Washington DC, has compiled reports from across the globe, which show that the melting accelerated during the 1990s - the warmest decade on record.
news.bbc.co.uk
The world's leading climatologists say global warming is happening faster than previously predicted. They say world temperatures this century could rise by between 1.4 and 5.8 degrees Celsius. "We see changes in climate, we believe we humans are involved and we're projecting future climate changes much more significant over the next 100 years than the last 100 years."
news.bbc.co.uk
<edit>Scientists say climate change could have dramatic consequences for the Arctic this century. They do not rule out the possibility that the entire Arctic could become ice-free. They expect that, even on conservative estimates, much of its land and sea ice may melt. ... The extent of the Arctic sea ice has declined by almost a third in the past 130 years, and the report says it is possible that the Arctic could lose all its ice.
...
"One of the key findings is that 22% of the Arctic permafrost could go. There's a lot of CO2 and methane in there. If that's released, it will be a positive feedback adding to the warming process. And it's entirely consistent with our understanding of what to expect.
"And the IPCC says the melting could mean more fresh water entering the sea, and affecting the thermohaline circulation in the north Atlantic. That would affect the Gulf Stream. It's not fantasy, it's plausible - and we think it's what happened in very rapid climate changes in the past."
news.bbc.co.uk
Note that I'm ignoring all the other results of climatic change as a result of a more energetic atmosphere... or do you assert that we'll have more ice as it gets warmer, or that ice occupies less space than water?
BTW, here's one in your favour from the mavericks... they just say global warming is 'exaggerated':
news.bbc.co.uk
I say, tell that to the ice. |
