Global Warming, Pollution Add to Coastal Threats

[Ian David]

Remember, it's called "Global Warming," NOT "Global Climate Change."

Do not look Karl Rove directly in the eyes...

Global Warming, Pollution Add to Coastal Threats
31 minutes ago

By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent

OSLO (Reuters) - A creeping rise in sea levels tied to global warming, pollution and damage to coral reefs may make coastlines even more vulnerable to disasters like tsunamis or storms in future, experts said Monday.


Few coastal ecosystems are robust enough to withstand freak waves like the ones that slammed into Asian nations from Sri Lanka to Thailand Sunday, killing more than 22,000 people, after a subsea earthquake off Indonesia.

But global warming, poorly planned coastal development and other threats over which humans have some control are weakening natural defenses ranging from mangrove swamps to coral reefs that help keep the oceans at bay.

"Coasts are under threat in many countries," said Brad Smith at environmental group Greenpeace. "Development of roads, shrimp farms, ribbon development along coasts and tourism are eroding natural defenses in Asia."

Scientists say a build-up of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere from human burning of fossil fuels threatens to trigger more powerful storms and raise sea levels, exposing coasts to more erosion.

Leaders of small island states will meet in Mauritius on Jan. 10-14 to debate threats such as global warming.

World sea levels rose on average by 10-20 cm (4 to 8 inches) during the 20th century and an additional rise of 9-88 cm is expected by the year 2100, according to latest report by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2001.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20041227/sc_nm/quake_environment_dc

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[Egalitariat]

1. I was just thinking this morning about how the term "Global Warming" is...

hurting the environmental cause. We should call it "Global Climate Change", because that's what it is. When Al Gore gave a major "Global Warming" speech in Boston last year, he did it one one of the coldest days in 50 years and he was mocked for it.

Just this week, kids built snowmen on the beaches of Corpus Christi, TX and the news went on and on about how winter weather/snow storms ruined the Christmas travel plans of so many folks.

Hell, I had to wear gloves to work this morning and I live in the middle of Florida.

All of this gives simple minded right-wingers ammunition to ignore and refute "Global Warming". If it's snowing at the beach, then we don't have a problem with warming, now do we?

"Global Climate Change" needs to take the place of "Global Warning" in a bad, bad way.