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Showing posts from 2020

Update on Sea Level Rise From Global Warming

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I've been posting about global warming since 2014 .  I haven't recently posted because of the pandemic.  I didn't want to post bad news during a time of really bad news.  There doesn't to be any end to the pandemic in sight, but life has reached some kind of abnormal normal, so I will begin global warming posts.  Today's is about a frequent topic, rising sea levels , because, as I've mentioned in the past, this will likely be the first to generate some impact on people's opinions.  This will likely be so because it is economic.   The New York Times has published an article about the impact of rising sea levels on coastal housing prices.   If rising seas cause America’s coastal housing market to dive — or, as many economists warn , when — the beginning might look a little like what’s happening in the tiny town of Bal Harbour, a glittering community on the northernmost tip of Miami Beach. With single-family homes selling for an average of $3....

More Detail about Sea Level Rise from Climate Change

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As anyone who has followed my climate change posts will know that I've posted frequently about the sea level rise , and that I believe sea level will be the climate change impact that eliminates all serious denial. The conclusion of the recent research confirms research I posted about last year , that it is accelerating. The gathering speed of sea level rise is evident even within the space of a year, with water levels at the 25 sites rising at a faster rate in 2019 than in 2018. The highest rate of sea level rise was recorded along the Gulf of Mexico shoreline, with Grand Isle, Louisiana, experiencing a 7.93mm annual increase, more than double the global average. The Texas locations of Galveston and Rockport had the next largest sea level rise increases. Generally speaking, the sea level is rising faster on the US east and Gulf coasts compared with the US west coast, partially because land on the eastern seaboard is gradually sinking. The rate of acceleration is a...

Republicans Getting Behind Climate Change Solution

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Each of our carbon footprints are critical for the survival of our planet.  I support all efforts to accomplish that.  However, I don't believe that effort will win without an economic incentive.  It is important that the true cost of carbon emissions be incorporated into our economy.  I've posted numerous times about how to do that with a carbon dividend or tax.   The Republican Party is responding to the impact the Democratic Party is having on this issue.  I believe a Green New Deal is just as important , but the Republican Party is coming out in favor of a carbon dividend to forestall the Green New Deal.  The Republican Party’s position on climate change is rapidly evolving, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) saying that we need conservative solutions and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) warning that the party ignores the issue at its own peril. Just Thursday, House Republican leadership, in its first polic...

The Next Decade: Global Warming Becomes the Dominant Topic

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Australia is on fire .  Firefighters battle a flare-up on a containment line at the Three Mile Fire on the Central Coast of Australia on on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019 Global warming has had a material impact for some time now, but not enough to get the required attention to reverse the denial.  Australia is the first of many major events that will get that attention.  There are going to be more.  Here is what we shall expect over the next decade: 1: Denial Dies The 2020s will see the effective end of denial.  2: Exploration Ends Reserves will become stranded assets and, just like the wild cats endangered by habitat destruction, wildcatters will face extinction. 3: Insurance Influences The cost of insurance will change both corporate and individual decisions in the 2020s. 4: Capital Chooses By the end of the 2020s, today‘s emerging technologies will be commercially viable and today’s existing technologies will be scaling at the speed of solar. An...