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Politics : The Environmentalist Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: average joe who wrote (29119)	6/7/2010 6:31:14 PM
From: Maurice Winn	1 Recommendation Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 36921

Because the weather, surface water and tectonic activity are so active, there is little sign of the millions of incoming bolides which have peppered the planet for billions of years. Details are rapidly eroded and overgrown. When there is another splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, the results of the wave are soon overgrown and eroded into obscurity. With little information passed down the generations and none from total wipe-outs, collective memory is short. Tunguska seems like ancient and irrelevant history to most people and few know about it anyway. There will be a very rapid sea level rise, no doubt before the year 2100 by which time the slow advent of global warming, if it happens, will have raised sea level perhaps 20 centimetres - barely knee high. Since that will take 100 years, it is unlikely that anyone will be taken by surprise. The economic loss will be negligible if measurable. On the other hand, a rapid sea level rise of 20 metres in one second with a wall of water coming in at the same time at high speed will be much more evident and consequential. Vast tracts of coastal habitation will be removed, probably with many of the inhabitants who will not be able to escape in time. For 100,000 people to flee along a single road from a coastal sand strip converted to housing to high ground would take considerably longer than how quickly people can drive - especially as panic and crashes would block the roads [or government departments would block them for some misguided bureaucratic reason such as their decision to have the emergency services be in charge]. If it wasn't so tragic, the present day worry about 20cm sea level rise instead of terror at the prospect 10 metres or 50 metres of sea coming ashore in seconds would be laughable. I like to live well above sea level and somewhat inland, though handy to the coast to enjoy sunny beachy days of swimming. Mqurice