Australian Politics Forum - Blow up your dinghies

Amadd

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Mo

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Blow up your dinghies
Jan 22^nd, 2009 at 2:46pm

Antarctica 'melting faster than first thought'

Thursday, January 22, 200915 hours 43 minutes ago

Research shows Antartica is rapidly melting. (AAP)

Scientists say Antarctica is melting, and much more than initially thought — spelling big trouble for Australia as sea levels rise.

Scientists used to think Antarctica was bucking the trend on global warming by getting cooler.

Now it seems they got it wrong.

US researchers have pored over data from satellites and weather stations in the biggest ever study of the frozen continent's climate and found it's warming after all.

University of Adelaide Research Institute for Climate Change and Sustainability director Barry Brook says the finding is alarming.

"That's bad news if you live near the Australian coast," Prof Brook was quoted by Nature magazine as saying.

"In some areas where you've currently got housing, you'd probably have to abandon those areas."

He said the sea would penetrate up to 1km inland in flat areas like South Australia's lower lakes.

...

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/731533/global-warming-experiment-risky-wwf

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freediver Gold Member Offline www.ozpolitic.com Posts: 53324 At my desk.	Re: Blow up your dinghies Reply #1 - Jan 22^nd, 2009 at 2:56pm Quote: Scientists now estimate the melting of Antarctica's massive ice sheets will cause the world's sea levels to rise by 1 to 2 metres by the end of the century.
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muso Gold Member Offline Posts: 13151 Gladstone, Queensland Gender:	Re: Blow up your dinghies Reply #2 - Jan 22^nd, 2009 at 3:03pm As far as I know, it's only the Antarctic peninsula that's melting to any great extent. I never trust media reporting, so I'll try to find the original paper and see if it was accurately reported. My initial guess is no.
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muso Gold Member Offline Posts: 13151 Gladstone, Queensland Gender:	Re: Blow up your dinghies Reply #3 - Jan 22^nd, 2009 at 3:08pm Here's the link to the abstract: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v457/n7228/full/nature07669.html There may be warming, but other than the Antarctic Peninsula, I doubt if there will be significant melting this century. The bulk of Antarctica is just too cold.
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Amadd Gold Member Offline Mo Posts: 6217	Re: Blow up your dinghies Reply #4 - Jan 22^nd, 2009 at 3:14pm I'm not going to pay $50 to see the whole article. How would I afford to keep my air-con. going?
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Sprintcyclist Gold Member Offline OzPolitic Posts: 41931 Gender:	Re: Blow up your dinghies Reply #5 - Jan 22^nd, 2009 at 3:40pm Seems a bit unusual why they would single out Aussie to get flooded by the antarctic melting. Not the rest of the world ? Is it cause we are closer ? Will south aussie cop it worse than NT ??
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tallowood Gold Member Offline Израиль Навсегда Posts: 8697 Gender:	Re: Blow up your dinghies Reply #6 - Jan 22^nd, 2009 at 5:12pm Sprintcyclist wrote on Jan 22^nd, 2009 at 3:40pm: Seems a bit unusual why they would single out Aussie to get flooded by the antarctic melting. Not the rest of the world ? Is it cause we are closer ? Will south aussie cop it worse than NT ?? Especially canberians
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freediver Gold Member Offline www.ozpolitic.com Posts: 53324 At my desk.	Re: Blow up your dinghies Reply #7 - Jan 22^nd, 2009 at 5:16pm Quote: Seems a bit unusual why they would single out Aussie to get flooded by the antarctic melting. It's because it's an Australian newspaper. Plus, Australia is the flattest continent.
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tallowood Gold Member Offline Израиль Навсегда Posts: 8697 Gender:	Re: Blow up your dinghies Reply #8 - Jan 22^nd, 2009 at 8:01pm Let's look at the bright side of it all. Some parts of central Australia is below current sea level so it can be filled up with water and we would have our own mediterranean sea. It probably will be good for the rest of dry continent as it would create new climatic conditions.
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mozzaok

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Re: Blow up your dinghies
Reply #9 - Jan 22^nd, 2009 at 9:05pm

I love the idea of an inland sea.
Now, with all the expected unemployment coming, we can give them all a pick and shovel, and build a nice little canal from the Arafura, right to the middle of Australia, and then we can show just how much effect man can have on his environment.

Believe it or not, people have already considered this option, and the page I am linking to, also says that the Menzies government did a feasability study about it!

Salt seems the biggest problem, well I would dredge the salt, and start building inland salt mountain ranges, if we can get them high enough, we may even create some much needed snowfields for the snow deprived people not living in the south east corner of our continent.

http://www.halfbakery.com/idea/The_20Australian_20sea

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OOPS!!! My Karma, ran over your Dogma!

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Amadd Gold Member Offline Mo Posts: 6217	Re: Blow up your dinghies Reply #10 - Jan 22^nd, 2009 at 9:40pm That's an interesting idea Mozz, however, it seems that so far it hasn't been feasible enough to do a feasibility study on it. Nuclear charges to blow out a canal? ...farcanal!
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muso

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Re: Blow up your dinghies
Reply #11 - Jan 23^rd, 2009 at 8:18am

mozzaok wrote on Jan 22^nd, 2009 at 9:05pm:

I love the idea of an inland sea.
Now, with all the expected unemployment coming, we can give them all a pick and shovel, and build a nice little canal from the Arafura, right to the middle of Australia, and then we can show just how much effect man can have on his environment.

Believe it or not, people have already considered this option, and the page I am linking to, also says that the Menzies government did a feasability study about it!

Salt seems the biggest problem, well I would dredge the salt, and start building inland salt mountain ranges, if we can get them high enough, we may even create some much needed snowfields for the snow deprived people not living in the south east corner of our continent.

http://www.halfbakery.com/idea/The_20Australian_20sea

Sounds a bit like using a canal to take water from the Ord Scheme to Perth. These crazy ideas are great when you don't look at them deeply. It's just when you consider that the water is going to cost 7 times that of desalinated water that good old economic common sense kicks in.

Most states are playing with desalination plants at least. Perth already has one, the Crow Eaters have one planned for Port Stanvac, there is one planned in Wonthaggi to service Melbourne, another planned for Sydney and of course there is one operational at Tugunon on the Gold Coast.

Am I digressing? Please ignore.

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Grendel Gold Member Offline OzPolitic Posts: 28080 Gender:	Re: Blow up your dinghies Reply #12 - Jan 23^rd, 2009 at 10:35am We used to have an inland sea... only greenies would bark against it... it's unnatural things must stay the same... etc, etc, etc... be a nice climate change too.
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freediver Gold Member Offline www.ozpolitic.com Posts: 53324 At my desk.	Re: Blow up your dinghies Reply #13 - Jan 23^rd, 2009 at 10:58am How sensitive is the cost to sea level? Seriously guys, I think the term 'inland sea' is a bit misleading. Shallow, putrid, salt encrusted swamp would be more realistic.
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Amadd Gold Member Offline Mo Posts: 6217	Re: Blow up your dinghies Reply #14 - Jan 23^rd, 2009 at 11:06am Quote: Shallow, putrid, salt encrusted swamp would be more realistic. Yeah I don't think it would be the sort of place that would be surrounded with beach chairs.
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