A December 2009 international conference in Copenhagen focuses on the issues of global warming. The effect of melting ice melting on sea levels is one of the issues. The below link is an excellent summary of a study about ice melting in Greenland and how it is increasing sea levels.
From Reuters on Greenland’s melting ice.
From the BBC - Q & A on the Copenhagen conference in December 2009.
What preparations are being made if the rising seas cannot be stopped, and what if all that exists along our coasts will be flooded? The rate of the rising sea levels seem so minimal right now that they don’t feel scary, but the projections are serious. We cannot merely hope that science will solve the problem before the projected ill-effects become unfixable. Governments need to address the projections by policy changes. We need to address the projections by each changing our life styles.
Even if the warming is partly a natural environmental cycle, the effects will still be incredible. We need to reduce our contributions to the warming. We simply need to prepare for the end effects, regardless of the cause. How will our children look back at us? Will they rightly blame us for spending more time arguing so much about the cause that we missed the opportunity to prepare for what more and more science projects will happen to their world?
Some say it is only a gloomy projection. That is a weak argument. But even if, by some chance, all the global climate changes turn out to be not dangerous, we should nonetheless respect our planet more. We need to help it provide us with a safe place to live. The earth is not endlessly forgiving of our choices. This is a prime example of the precautionary principle. But the precautionary principle takes self-discipline and personal responsibility.
Filed under: Climate Change, Environment & Health, Society's Tonics | Tagged: climate change, deforestation, global warming, Greenland, preautionary principle, psychological effects of climate change, rising sea levels
