By Bruce Barnbaum
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Sunday 11 March 2007
Some leaders -- notably President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney -- have stated they will do nothing to stem global warming if it will harm our economy. Let's examine two examples of what would happen to our economy if we follow their advice and do nothing.
Note that predictions of climate change have been quite accurate, so a high degree of confidence exists (and, in fact, a growing degree of confidence) that future predictions will be borne out.
Look at the consequences of rising sea levels. If the oceans rise 20 feet, much of our coastal land would be imperiled. What would that mean?
Most of Florida is barely above sea level. A 20-foot ocean level rise would put half of Florida under water, including Miami, Tampa Bay and Jacksonville, Florida's three largest cities.
What would be the cost of building dikes around all this real estate? Hundreds of billions of dollars, perhaps well into the trillions. Florida has the longest coastline of any state except Alaska, and the dikes needed to protect Florida would have to be extended across the other Gulf States and up the East Coast to truly be protective.
We can't build a Maginot Line of dikes just around Florida, allowing the rising waters to flow around the ends of the dikes. If we build protective dikes for some areas, we have to protect them all. Not only are we looking at excessive expenditures, but we're looking at an impossible amount of material needed to build thousands of miles of dikes 20-plus feet high.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Sunday 11 March 2007
Some leaders -- notably President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney -- have stated they will do nothing to stem global warming if it will harm our economy. Let's examine two examples of what would happen to our economy if we follow their advice and do nothing.
Note that predictions of climate change have been quite accurate, so a high degree of confidence exists (and, in fact, a growing degree of confidence) that future predictions will be borne out.
Look at the consequences of rising sea levels. If the oceans rise 20 feet, much of our coastal land would be imperiled. What would that mean?
Most of Florida is barely above sea level. A 20-foot ocean level rise would put half of Florida under water, including Miami, Tampa Bay and Jacksonville, Florida's three largest cities.
What would be the cost of building dikes around all this real estate? Hundreds of billions of dollars, perhaps well into the trillions. Florida has the longest coastline of any state except Alaska, and the dikes needed to protect Florida would have to be extended across the other Gulf States and up the East Coast to truly be protective.
We can't build a Maginot Line of dikes just around Florida, allowing the rising waters to flow around the ends of the dikes. If we build protective dikes for some areas, we have to protect them all. Not only are we looking at excessive expenditures, but we're looking at an impossible amount of material needed to build thousands of miles of dikes 20-plus feet high.
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