About This Blog
What can you expect to find here?
The front page of this blog is like the tip of an iceberg which everyone sees, while the other pages are the hidden part of the iceberg which is seldom seen.
The Watch Pages are the focus of this blog. They will document my attempt to create an early warning system, which can help us avoid the worst effects from a sudden and drastic rise in sea levels.
I admit the posts are designed to entice you in and keep you coming back for more. I hope you will take advantage of my news posts and make this site your preferred environmental news site. Nonetheless, the real work of this blog will occur on the Watch pages.
The upcoming Resources Page will be designed to point you toward the many other sources of information available on important Global Warming issues such as Renewable Energy, Carbon Offsets, and of course, the fight against Global Warming.
The Watch Pages are a work in progress and are still in the early stages of their development. They will become much more robust over time and I hope you start checking them out on a monthly or weekly basis, but if you don’t have the time then visit the Timeline Page.
The upcoming Timeline Page is designed to help you get a snapshot of SLR and it will act as a hybrid post section for the Watch pages. Visit the Timeline Page to receive updates about breaking developments.
What are my credentials? Why am I doing this?
I have no scientific credentials. I am a renaissance man who takes an interdisciplinary approach to issues, focusing on the bigger picture; the whole forest. The scientific community tends to concentrate on parts of the picture, the individual trees in the forest. Scientists are revealing more and more of the unseen/unknown forest everyday, seeing beyond the tip of the iceberg to the vast mass below. I can make the type of statements they frequently can not, since they have to be worried about reputation and funding; although there are exceptions, like James Hansen.
I have been studying global warming for more than a decade. I have watched the news go from bad to worse with increasing signs that we are losing this battle. All of the emphasis is on mitigation, which has not made a dent in GHG emissions and emissions growth, while adaptation (the insurance policy, so to speak) has been largely ignored.
I believe we are very near, if not past, the point of no return. The three strikes which will knock us out are:
1. GHG emissions from industrial sources will continue to grow at an unacceptable rate; caused by undeveloped nations (especially China) more than offsetting any progress in reduction (which can or will be) made by the developed nations.
2. Continued warming of the permafrost (one of the largest carbon sinks) will accelerate its release of the thousands of years of methane and CO2 it has previously trapped; with the potential to double the rate of emissions concentration in the atmosphere. This tipping point already appears to be in a feedback loop.
3. The remaining carbon sinks are no longer as effective at reducing atmospheric GHG through absorption and capture. Deforestation coupled with ocean CO2 saturation will deprive the world of the natural “brake” on GHG emission growth, and without this brake GHG emissions will grow at an even faster rate.
What do I do when I am not writing my blog?
I am a low level eco-warrior, working on the front lines to raise awareness and funds for some of the groups waging the battle against Global Warming. I have first hand experience with efforts to educate the public, elected officials, and administrative bureaucracies.
Why so Gloomy? Sea Level Rise is going to be sooo slow, right?
I am writing my blog because I see the misguided approaches, the failures, the rampant fraud and mismanagement on all levels, which are crippling the fight against global warming. I made the determination to share my insights and try to prepare people for the troubles to come; the most dangerous of which is sea level rise.
The majority of the world’s population lives on coastal plains, which are also home to most of our largest and greatest cities. The IPCC admitted that they did not know enough to accurately predict future sea level rise. Pearl Buck said “One faces the future with one’s past.” There have been numerous interglacial periods before, and while scientists do disagree on their causes, the “melt water pulses” are evidence of prior periods of sea level rise. Most disturbing of all is Melt Water Pulse 1A which may have caused sea level rise of 1 to 3 meters per year, (that’s right year, not century) during its height. I believe we are about to equal or surpass that event.
We are unprepared for such a catastrophe. No country is preparing for the relocation of millions of citizens; the destruction of large parts of the economic, governmental, and societal infrastructures which are located in these areas; no one is addressing the need to protect our ports which are the life’s blood of today’s global economy.
Why do we need to prepare?
Do you have life insurance, fire insurance, health insurance, and/or car insurance? Why, because you want disaster to strike? Of course not. You have it because “Shit Happens”; things beyond our control, beyond our ability to prevent. I am advocating Global Warming Insurance. We need to prepare for the worst, start anticipating and preparing, start planning; so we can lessen the consequences. To plan only for success is illogical and extremely arrogant. Our leaders in both the environmental and political fields are failing us. So I intend to educate people; to raise awareness of the peril; to provide answers, solutions, and ways to mitigate the worst consequences. I hope to build an early warning system, while documenting the changes as they occur. I will strive to save as many as possible from the needless hardships and death that lack of preparation will cause.
You want to know more about me?
I am single and live in a major coastal city. I have no car; I use little electricity in my one room apartment; I recycle everything I can; and I pick my consumer products based upon efficiency and environmental values (including lighting). I have a very low carbon footprint, one of the lowest you can have and still live on the grid. If I ever get a home it will have active and passive solar features, with geothermal heat, and maximum electrical efficiency. If I ever get a car it will be either electric/fuel cell/or the best eco-friendly alternative, and at a minimum it will be a hybrid. I don’t fly, I take trains to visit my friends in the suburbs, and I walk to a lot of places.
Several years ago I changed my life style, greening down and giving up things that I can live without. I felt the need to make the walk match the talk. Now I am ramping up the talk and I hope that people will listen. More than anything else I hope I am wrong, but from the inner depths of my soul comes that nagging voice that constantly says: You have a moral and ethical obligation to help. So, I want every person who reads this to answer these questions. What are you going to tell your grandchildren/nieces/nephews
I am growing old and I may never live to see my worst fears realized, but I intend to fight until the very end. I will not go quietly into the darkness, and I won’t let ignorance and arrogance consign millions of people to an undeserved fate.
Thank You!
Thank you for visiting my blog and I hope you come back often. I have a small favor to ask. Please spread the word. Tell your freinds, relatives, and coworkers about this blog. I appreciate anything you can do to spread the message: We need Global Warming Insurance!!
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