NOAA or Noah?
Without efforts to control human-caused global warming, we should consider the current extremes a preview of coming attractions.
While the mega drought continues in the west and southwest:
Although the 2021 summer monsoon was good – well above average in some places – it was not enough to counter the cumulative shortfalls of the preceding years. The cumulative precipitation for the 20-month period was the lowest on record, dating back to 1895. That left almost the entire western half of the contiguous United States in some level of drought at the end of August. Climate.gov
More frequent flooding is also predicted for coastal areas over the next several decades:
Ocean levels along the U.S. coastline are projected to rise by an average of 10 to 12 inches over the next three decades, worsening the threat of flooding in dozens of highly populated cities, according to a new report released Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other federal agencies.
“Well, I live more than a foot above sea level, and/or not on the coast, why should I worry?” Comments?
If you don’t worry you never buy imported goods coming through those flooded port cities, you don’t have a thought about people moving from those cities crowding into your town, or the housing crisis ensuing, etc.
I don’t care…
All we have seen are but harbingers of what is to come. I think it beyond individual comprehension the upheaval we are about to see.
That advertised foot of sea rise doesn’t do justice to the peripheral effects, the collateral damage: everywhere from that foot to three foot above now will experience “nuisance tides”, exceptionally high tides that generate mini storm-surges, that flood the streets; and of course, every actual storm-surge will flood. Figure two feet above every foot of sea level rise …
Ten Bears,
I believe the best part of what you wrote was “I think it beyond individual comprehension the upheaval we are about to see.” When we begin to think that we do comprehend based on linear projection from the present reality, then we are likely to be way off over the longer term. Over any short domain time duration then the slope of a response hyperbole will appear linear, but over the full domain then the range of the slope will be catastrophically nonlinear rather than linear. Over available paleoclimatological history, then the evidence is that climate change is frequently a nonlinear progression. It is all about the tipping points, which move a bit over the ages along with the movement of the tectonic plates.
It would of course be hyperbolic to assume that climate change is on a hyperbolic trajectory when it could just as easily be fit to successive parabolas.
That one foot will not be evenly spread. Minor sea water flooding once a month ought to be a giant warning sign for what is coming but there doesn’t seem to be much concern. I guess we have to wait for a few condos to collapse.