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Thermal Science Scientist: Miami will be flooded and nothing can be done about it

Oersted

Member
Its general consensus, but John Abraham, a professor of thermal sciences at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, was the one being asked in this interview.

And so, what are the consequences of all that ice going into the ocean?

Scientists know the ocean levels are rising at a few millimeters per year, right now. But we are seeing that sea level rise is accelerating - it's rising faster and faster. If you ask oceanographers what the oceans will be like by 2100, the general view is that it's going to be 1 meter [3 feet and 3 inches] higher than it is today.

This is going to result in displacement of people all around the world. In the United States, Miami is our poster child for sea level threat. Miami will be flooded. Miami will be lost, and there's basically nothing that can be done to save it. If you think about the economic costs and social consequences of having to relocate entire cities or portions of countries, it's astonishing.

Obligatory part about Twitter user Trump and his neagtive impact on the environment, science and the US economy

And yet President Donald Trump has pulled the United States out of the Paris Accord. What chances do you think we have of changing the current trajectory that we're on in terms of climate change?

The night of the US election, scientists in the US knew that President Trump would pull out of the Paris accord. We finally heard the official news [at the beginning of June] - and for many of us, this brought a sense of relief, strangely enough.

We were very afraid the United States would stay in the Paris accord, but sabotage it from the inside. Now with the US out, this gives other countries a chance to lead. And we know that now the economics are driving clean renewable energy deployment around the world, and that countries like China are taking major steps to become global leaders.

I'm also hopeful that other countries step forward and take the place of the US as the leader in this area. But it saddens me, because it means that in the United States, for instance, we are going to be buying solar panels and wind power plants from other countries. We're not going to be exporting them. So this is a real economic opportunity for other countries, and it's a huge economic loss for the United States.

More here

http://p.dw.com/p/2fgwH

Lock if old
 
The only thing in the interview I really disagree with is that the US might lose out on the economic advantages of solar and wind. For as short sighted as our politicians are now, US businesses see the long term advantages of renewable energy and will continue to invest, and hopefully sell, to other countries
 
A lot of the coastal cities are in trouble of being a flooded.
The only thing in the interview I really disagree with is that the US might lose out on the economic advantages of solar and wind. For as short sighted as our politicians are now, US businesses see the long term advantages of renewable energy and will continue to invest, and hopefully sell, to other countries
Some states are pushing it too. I know Nevada and Texas are the two major ones that I hear about.
 

Volimar

Member
How well would a sea wall work in an area that gets depressions, storms, and hurricanes fairly regularly?
 

Darknight

Member
I wish we could relocate those anti-science anti-climate change people down to areas that will get fucked so they are the ones to suffer whatever happens there. Yes its bad to think this way but they are literally fucking our planet just to save money and/or be willfully dumbasses.
 

Veezy

que?
Good.

Maybe having Florida underwater might wake some people the fuck up. Too bad about all the people that are going to die and the fact the most impacted are going to be on the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum, but the loss in tax revenue might be enough for the FL government to finally get involved.

Fuck it, who am I kidding. Nothing will be done and people will die and we won't learn a thing.
 
It won't just be miami it will displace the world.

It'll be a massive crush of soon to be dead people pressed against the border fences with the horror live streamed for all to see.
 

Cocaloch

Member
Didn't Florida vote for Trump? I guess they voted for their own displacement.

I'm sure that everyone in the state voted for Trump, yes that sounds right. Clearly they must have brought this on themselves. Also clearly this wasn't an issue before Trump that America has been ignoring since the 80s.
 

IrishNinja

Member
Didn't Florida vote for Trump? I guess they voted for their own displacement.

Good.

Maybe having Florida underwater might wake some people the fuck up. Too bad about all the people that are going to die

I'm okay with this so as long as Palm Beach gets flooded too.

as a south FL resident that's stuck as a sea of blue beholden to Tallahassee & a northern FL so red even the actual south (north of us ) doesn't want it, I must say, shitposts like this sure help

Save south beach. Let the rest sink.

I lived on the beach, a heavy rain makes it flood. we either make efforts or they're the first to go
also, shitpost


The part of Florida that ensured Trump's victory will probably be glad when South Florida sinks.

at least this guy gets it
 
How well would a sea wall work in an area that gets depressions, storms, and hurricanes fairly regularly?

Used to do a lot of survey work in Miami for sea level rise. It can work but it will take a shit load of money, resources, and investment for it to happen. Unfortunately I don't think the Florida Governement cares that much, as with everything else, until it's too late.

I did one survey for a 12 mile barrier wall along a canal, and one home owner came over and had the gall to tell us that sea level rise is a myth. We showed him the original plans from the 50's and the water had risen by about 2 feet. You didn't even need plans, you can clearly see it . He still didn't believe us. Some people man......
 

g11

Member
Can we somehow speed up the process and sink the whole of Florida while we're at it? In for a penny, in for a pound...
 

IrishNinja

Member
Can’t actually do it because of the porous limestone on which the city rests. The water is flowing up through this limestone.

yeah I've been wondering how to solve that issue here for a while now too

Can we somehow speed up the process and sink the whole of Florida while we're at it? In for a penny, in for a pound...

better yet, can we ban these dumb driveby shitposts thinking its cute to have one of the largest states in the union die because lol G/A/F bugs bunny gif nonsense?
 

Veezy

que?
as a south FL resident that's stuck as a sea of blue beholden to Tallahassee & a northern FL so red even the actual south (north of us ) doesn't want it, I must say, shitposts like this sure help



I lived on the beach, a heavy rain makes it flood. we either make efforts or they're the first to go
also, shitpost

Okay, so sorry about the shit post. I do empathize, I've got close family that are going to probably lose their home to this. Let me word my thoughts in another way.

Nothing can be done. It's too late. We're fucked. This isn't defeatist, it's science.

The best thing for the citizens of South Florida, all coastal cities, and residents of island areas is to hope their Right Wing conservative State and Federal government has some sort of long term plan to deal with the human and economic fallout from the catastrophic event that is going to occur.

May some god have mercy on their souls because our government won't.
 

jstripes

Banned
Here in the Netherlands we did that and it is working quite well! Half our country is below sea level but we are still dry!

Republicans are a force of nature even the Dutch would have difficulty dealing with.

"Build a sea wall? With MY TAX MONEY?"

Unless it performs double-duty of keeping Mexicans out, it's not happening.
 

EMT0

Banned
Sometimes I wonder if denying global warming is the right playing the long game, figuring that if people are going to suffer it's going to be the 'coastal liberal elites' and that they're going to end up rich when they all of a sudden own beachside properties.
 
Good.

Maybe having Florida underwater might wake some people the fuck up. Too bad about all the people that are going to die and the fact the most impacted are going to be on the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum.

Actually sea level rise in South Florida affects mostly middle to upper class areas. Rich people love living close to the water. It's posts like this that make my blood boil.
 

Xe4

Banned
This is going to result in displacement of people all around the world. In the United States, Miami is our poster child for sea level threat. Miami will be flooded. Miami will be lost, and there's basically nothing that can be done to save it. If you think about the economic costs and social consequences of having to relocate entire cities or portions of countries, it's astonishing.
Excuse my French, but that's a bunch of fucking bullshit.
Miami Now
Screenshot_from_2017-07-04_16-50-45.png

Miami with 3ft (~1m) Sea Level Rise*
Screenshot_from_2017-07-04_16-51-07.png

Source: https://coast.noaa.gov/slr/#

And that's without any efforts to adapt to rising sea level which Miami will undoubtedly undertake.

Climate change is going to be bad enough. Those are hundreds of millions of dollars (maybe even billions of dollars) of properties that are going to be at risk of flooding or loss. There's no reason to just make up bullshit like that.

*It'll be slightly worse than that assuming a 1m rise by 2100. 3 ft =.92 m, and there was no option to select 3.5 feet.
Screenshot_from_2017-07-04_17-01-48.png

Here's 4 ft of sea level rise. The 1m sea level rise would be between this and the previous picture. Bad, certainly but it's a far cry from "Miami being lost", as he claimed.
 

DrSlek

Member
Republicans are a force of nature even the Dutch would have difficulty dealing with.

"Build a sea wall? With MY TAX MONEY?"

Unless it performs double-duty of keeping Mexicans out, it's not happening.

It'll keep the Cubans out. Will that do?
 

BlueTsunami

there is joy in sucking dick
better yet, can we ban these dumb driveby shitposts thinking its cute to have one of the largest states in the union die because lol G/A/F bugs bunny gif nonsense?

Still a shit state, lived there for a year. Posts are warranted. Its gonna be ok (well, the thread, not Florida)

Ita gonna be amazing to find out the infrastructure costs for a sea wall and if Florida will even want to foot the bill.
 

Cocaloch

Member
Excuse my French, but that's a bunch of fucking bullshit.
Miami Now
Screenshot_from_2017-07-04_16-50-45.png

Miami with 3ft (~1m) Sea Level Rise*
Screenshot_from_2017-07-04_16-51-07.png

Source: https://coast.noaa.gov/slr/#

And that's without any efforts to adapt to rising sea level which Miami will undoubtedly undertake.

Climate change is going to be bad enough. Those are hundreds of millions of dollars (maybe even billions of dollars) of properties that are going to be at risk of flooding or loss. There's no reason to just make up bullshit like that.

*It'll be slightly worse than that assuming a 1m rise by 2100. 3 ft =.92 m, and there was no option to select 3.5 feet. But it's a far cry from "Miami being lost", as he would clame.

We're essentially locked into that change now though. That's if we clean up our act now. Things are going to get worse than predicted, not better baring some magical moment where people come to their senses on the matter in the immediate future.
 

Retro

Member
Don't forget all of Florida rests on an extremely porous karst limestone peninsula; once sea levels rise, salt water is going to intrude into the aquifer, eliminating the main source of fresh water.

So in addition to holding back three feet of sea water, you also need a massive desalination process, storm water collection, tight water conservation, wastewater reuse and management (because salt water in the sewer systems is another wrinkle for water treatment) and a whole bunch of other crap to ensure fresh drinking water.

All of that comes with a huge price tag, so eventually coastal Florida will just be too expensive to inhabit.

Here in the Netherlands we did that and it is working quite well! Half our country is below sea level but we are still dry!

To this point, the Netherlands are supplied with fresh water from several alpine rivers, and won't have that problem.
 

IrishNinja

Member
Okay, so sorry about the shit post. I do empathize, I've got close family that are going to probably lose their home to this. Let me word my thoughts in another way.

Nothing can be done. It's too late. We're fucked. This isn't defeatist, it's science.

The best thing for the citizens of South Florida, all coastal cities, and residents of island areas is to hope their Right Wing conservative State and Federal government has some sort of long term plan to deal with the human and economic fallout from the catastrophic event that is going to occur.

May some god have mercy on their souls because our government won't.

appreciate the sentiment - some of us here are doing what we can, between calling the governor (hahaha like he gives a shit), supporting local reps who follow the science, the recent march here etc. rick scott is finally out next year & we've not had a dem gov since the mid 90s but a lotta groups are active & trying to change that now - hence all the dismissing shit here feeling a bit frustrating

Still a shit state, lived there for a year. Posts are warranted. Its gonna be ok (well, the thread, not Florda

like this winner - did he even live in miami? who cares, it's another shitpost
 

DiscoJer

Member
The problem is you have to believe in climate change and be willing to put in the huge amount of money, R&D, time and labor into these huge undertakings.

The problem is that it really doesn't matter what the US. The rest of the world sill builds coal plants.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/01/...coal-plants-climate-change.html?smid=tw-share

To me, the root cause is basically abandoning nuclear energy. I'm not saying that doesn't have drawbacks, but many of those were caused because of irrational fear of nuclear energy.

By not building more modern nuclear plants, safer, cleaner ones to replace the older ones, and continuing to user the older, more risk prone ones, we're just asking for trouble. But turning fears into reality by relying on those older plants which will inevitably have problems, because no matter how much you maintain them, they are just getting older and older and older..
 
A few years ago I was living maybe 100 feet from Biscayne Bay. One day it rained for a few hours yet there was maybe 5 feet of water all over the area. My car was basically under water. The building next to mine wasn't elevated enough and people had 3 feet of water in their apartment. If a bad hurricane with a lot of rain comes again, hate to say it, but it's gonna devastate Miami, again, this time from flooding, especially on the beaches and Downtown. Dade County made a lot of adjustments to construction standards, but only after Andrew. Unfortunately that's what I think it will take.
 
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