pstarr wrote:I see. So real greening deserts, actual greater agriculture output and healthier forests don't count? Not when you can beat the drum for theoretical acid oceans, potentially failing fishing industries and higher sea levels. And killer hurricanes.
What a drag to be you. Oh, and by the way . . . the Great Killer California Drought is over. And the forest fires are a consequence of bad logging. This is tiring.
I did not say they don't count. Of course they count. One in the win column. Hurray! However, there is also a growing list of items in the loss column as well.
Ocean acidification is hardly theoretical. It is happening right now:
Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the pH of surface ocean waters has fallen by 0.1 pH units. Since the pH scale, like the Richter scale, is logarithmic, this change represents approximately a 30 percent increase in acidity (see our pH primer web page for more information).
What is Ocean Acidification?And there is nothing theoretical about sea level rise. It is here now:
* Miami and Miami Beach already struggle with serious flooding related to sea-level rise — even when there is no rain.
* The ground under the cities of South Florida is largely porous limestone, which means water will eventually rise up through it.
* The cities are taking flood-control measures like installing pumps, raising roads, and restoring wetlands.
* Coastal cities around the world face similar problems.
Beyond the damage to homes, roads, or other infrastructure, the flooding also threatens drinking water and plant life. Ultimately, of course, it means large parts of the city could become permanently uninhabitable.
Water is coming for Miami from all sides
You can break the major water challenges that the region is facing into three parts, or “whammies.”
The first is sea-level rise. Because of ocean currents and Miami's location, sea levels are rising in and around the city and Miami Beach faster than in most of the world.
The second problem facing South Florida is a vexing geological one. “Our underlying geology is like Swiss cheese.” The solid ground under South Florida — Miami, Miami Beach, the Keys, and much of the rest of the peninsula — is mostly limestone made of compressed ancient reefs that are full of tiny holes. That means salty water is rising up through the ground itself, not just in the waters surrounding Florida. The water could start intruding on drinking-water reservoirs (it already has in some areas) and killing off non-salt-tolerant vegetation, including shade-providing palm trees. It’s impossible to wall South Florida’s water out with levees or giant gates — as other cities have done — if the water rises up through the ground. When I asked one architect what the solution might be, she threw her hands up in the air.
Obeysekera said the third whammy, the effect of future storms, is still an unknown. The consequences of a warmer world on hurricane season are uncertain, but many scientists agree that we can expect storms to be more intense, which could mean higher storm surges and more rainfall.
Miami is racing against time to keep up with sea-level riseAlso, don't project your doom fetish onto me. Unlike you, I never spent all day fanasizing about doom. Never have, never will.
And as for weather and droughts, you appear to not know the difference between weather and climate:
Climate change affects a variety of factors associated with drought
When considering the relationship of drought to climate change, it is important to make the distinction between weather and climate. Weather is a description of atmospheric conditions over a short period of time, while climate is how the atmosphere behaves over relatively long periods of time. Individual drought periods can be understood as discrete weather events. Climate changes occur over longer periods and can be observed as changes in the patterns of weather events. For instance, as temperatures have warmed over the past century, the prevalence and duration of drought has increased in the American West.
Global climate change affects a variety of factors associated with drought. There is high confidence that increased temperatures will lead to more precipitation falling as rain rather than snow, earlier snow melt, and increased evaporation and transpiration. Thus the risk of hydrological and agricultural drought increases as temperatures rise. Much of the Mountain West has experienced declines in spring snowpack, especially since mid-century.
Causes of Drought: What's the Climate Connection?The oil barrel is half-full.
