Global Warming is very real

Mother Nature bats last

Published on November 20, 2004 By dabe In Current Events

Rather than get your skewed information about global warming from political websites, particularly conservative think tank sites, I invite you to learn about global warming from the scientific experts. They do not have political axes to grind when they discuss global warming and sea level rise, except as it relates to the Bush White Wash, I mean House attempts to skew and supress scientific reports.

As an environmental professional working predominantly in the field of coastal zone management, I frequently get to read the reports from both governmental and non-governmental organizations regarding global warming. My position as a coastal zone manager enables me to see the direct impacts of sea level rise, and no drmiler, it's not junk science. It's very real, and it's a looming catastrophe. Sea level rise is but one facet of the dilemma of global warming, having rather dire consequences along the eastern seaboard of the United States, where I work, and the rest of the world's coasts right now. Wetlands and salt marshes are drowning in place, and beach erosion will cost the taxpayers bigtime, in efforts to stabilize and make static otherwise dynamic coastal systems.

The only reason that these stabilization efforts are undertaken is because 50% of the population of the US lives along coastal areas, and the pressure to build and build and build along the coast grows and grows and grows in spite of the rising costs to keep the land stable. I have seen erosion destroy 50+ houses in a 24-hour timeframe, only to see new houses built in their places. But, these replacement houses always are bigger, more expensive, more elaborate, and more ostentatious. Every storm results in bigger houses. The shores are no longer lined with small summer beach cottages. Not any more. Now, they are lined with palaces, requiring more and more federal expenditures to protect them, via federal flood insurance and sand renourishment projects. Because the worth of the houses exceeds any comperable payout in flood insurance, people hang onto them more and more tenaciously, at greater and greater costs, and demanding the government to shoulder more and more of the responsibility to build and protect. But, you know what? Mother Nature bats last.

Back to the issue of global warming....... A really good place to start reading about this subject is on the Union of Concerned Scientists website Link

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