Is there something about "climate change" I'm missing?

[Izakflashman]

Ok, so amongst the number of crisis's around at the moment (which keep springing up as often as a new summer blockbuster) is this thing we like to call global wa- climate change, woops. I forgot we were changing the name now and hastily forgetting the last. aaanyway, I just have a quick question, I hope its not a dumb one.
Al Gore mentioned on his little movie that some of the pacific islands were getting flooded because of global warming, and that refugees were coming over here to NZ. The other day on TV they showed this island called Takuu with waves sweeping up into the houses, people running for their lives. The host of the shows gravely says that this is the ugly work of global warming.
Now the question is, are there little ocean hills? Does the ocean stack itself up in certain spots? Cause I was under the impression that when the ice caps would melt, and oceans would rise, it would rise everywhere, not just on random little islands. Last time I checked our high tide line at the beach hasn't changed. Its rather perplexing.

P.s. I looked up about the islands that Al mentioned to see if what he says about refugees coming to my country was true. Well turns out he was right sort of, although last time I checked erosion from years and years of waves hitting an island didn't count towards climate change.
And TVNZ got slammed for its news report about Takuu for being hugely inaccurate. Turns out the island has been well documented for years by geologists as sitting on a fault line and is actually sinking.

 

[Nmil-ek]

Continents and land sink all the time its not that suprising, been happening for billions of years will continue to do so for along time after.

 

[jasoncyrus]

Yup, same with temperature change.

What Al gore fails to acknowledge that a tropical period emerges before an ice age hits. This means we're due for another one in the next 1000 years or so.

 

[Jerious1154]

I don't know about those specific islands, but the reason that small islands are the most at risk of going underwater is that they tend to be just a few feet above sea-level.

But that's not going to be happening in the next few years. The effects are going to be gradual. I don't have the specific numbers, but it's not as if the ocean is rising a foot a year.

 

[Izakflashman]

Yup, same with temperature change.

What Al gore fails to acknowledge that a tropical period emerges before an ice age hits. This means we're due for another one in the next 1000 years or so.

My dad (Almost sixty now, jeeze, times getting on) remembers News reports about people panicing that they were about to go into the next ice age. They were talking about theories of flying over the poles with planes and sprinkling coals on them to stop them from growing and taking over the world. XD lol. we laugh at them, But to be honest, I'm gonna be laughing at us in twenty years time.

 

[iJosh]

Land doesn't sink actually. Water levels are rising. Because ice is melting blah blah fucking blah.

Pretty much the worlds going to end then freeze over.

 

[jasoncyrus]

Land doesn't sink actually. Water levels are rising. Because ice is melting blah blah fucking blah.

Pretty much the worlds going to end then freeze over.

Tell that to my uncles house...

 

[jh322]

Land doesn't sink actually. Water levels are rising. Because ice is melting blah blah fucking blah.

Pretty much the worlds going to end then freeze over.

don't want to troll, but technically, land can sink, if it's on a particularly unstable base, or based on something like a fault line like the island mentioned by the OP. Another example would be Venice, which isn't on a fault line, but is sinking. Similar again with (I believe) Mexico City.

 

[Motti]

Land doesn't sink actually.

Why not? It rises a hell of a lot (it's called a mountain), why can't it sink?

@Izakflashman: The bit you missed about climate change is how it's not really going to kill us all. The world will just lose some of it's biodiversity, the animals that survive it will adapt and evolve. Natural selection in action.

 

[CuddlyCombine]

don't want to troll, but technically, land can sink, if it's on a particularly unstable base, or based on something like a fault line like the island mentioned by the OP. Another example would be Venice, which isn't on a fault line, but is sinking.

Venice is on a clay bed, under which lies an aquifer. As you would have it, the wells in Venice worked on the principle of extracting freshwater from the aquifer. As you deplete the aquifer, it can't support as much weight - hence, Venice sinks.

So yes, some land can sink, but it isn't like everything does. For example, most of Canada will be on the same elevation for an indefinite amount of time, given that the rocky Canadian Shield region covers most of the country.

Al Gore mentioned on his little movie that some of the pacific islands were getting flooded because of global warming, and that refugees were coming over here to NZ. The other day on TV they showed this island called Takuu with waves sweeping up into the houses, people running for their lives. The host of the shows gravely says that this is the ugly work of global warming.

Now the question is, are there little ocean hills? Does the ocean stack itself up in certain spots?

The ocean does have currents, which can lead to more water being in one place than another (when you combine the effect of, say, the Gulf Stream and tidal forces). For example, the city I live in, Winnipeg, experienced the largest flood in history, which is estimated to have been capable of covering more of the area than ever before had prevention measures not been taken; this happened while the waterline at a nearby city was probably the same for the yearly norm. There are hundreds of factors which affect the outcome of these sorts of things.

I'm not saying it had to be global warming, but this is happening more and more often...

 

[Typecast]

The ocean is not a glass of water.

 

[Leorex]

the ocean dose 'stack' its self up higher in some places an lower in others, due to the air pressure being diffrent. so it could be 2feet below sea level in one place, and 4 feet above sea level in another.

but its always changing, so one day it might be 4 feet, another it might be 2 another it might be 6 feet.

 

[SilentFish]

Yup, same with temperature change.

What Al gore fails to acknowledge that a tropical period emerges before an ice age hits. This means we're due for another one in the next 1000 years or so.

My dad (Almost sixty now, jeeze, times getting on) remembers News reports about people panicing that they were about to go into the next ice age. They were talking about theories of flying over the poles with planes and sprinkling coals on them to stop them from growing and taking over the world. XD lol. we laugh at them, But to be honest, I'm gonna be laughing at us in twenty years time.

Now I may have been a stupid little kid at the time (I was) but does anyone remember about 10 years or so ago people were going nuts over the hole in the ozone layer? Does anyone even care about that anymore? Oh, right, because the hole fixed itself. It's crazy, like the planet can actually take care of itself without our intervention.

Maybe I'm a little bitter that we've once again picked up another "WE ALL GUNNA DIE!!1!!1!one" doomsday show and are giving it legitimacy. Remember back in the day? The beginning of the Nuclear arms race? Where so many MAD scenarios depicted the earth being rendered into a toxic wasteland? That was back when most countries had some measure of self-control and no one was especially fond of fucking over the entire planet. I'm not saying there weren't threats or a few crazies but still. Now we have arrived at the present, and what do we have here? Crazy Islamic radicals who would gladly press the "Smite the World" button if it kills the infidel? Why when people who would gladly use such weapons of overwhelming devastation does NO ONE CARE?! How can they openly state that they want to glass an ENTIRE COUNTRY and commit delicious genocide and no one takes notice?

And why were the Islamic and Russian terrorists changed to just Russians and an Austrian neo-nazi in the movie adaptation of The Sum of All Fears? (Yeah that was a bit of a tangent)

It's all global warming now. It's starting feel like the crazier sects of Christianity screaming about the end of the world every other year. "Yeah the worlds going to end next year....probably... maybe... I'll get back to you.""Yeah I was wrong last time, but I'm sure this time."

 

[tomtom94]

Climate change is a threat. I don't know how large a threat but it is still a threat. While I'm not an eco-hippie or Prince Charles I think we do need to do somewhat more to combat climate change. Not eke out energy from oil/coal but instead try something like, oh, say, building a lot more wind/water turbines/solar panels and funding hydrogen cars (rather than ridiculous hybrids). It's almost as if the governments of the world want us to be on our knees begging them to get rid of climate change...like they did with communists and terrorists and failed to do with the credit crunch...

Yes, the world won't die tomorrow, I accept that. But it might (depending on how bad the situation is now, these media types are so vague) affect our children or our grandchildren and I want to leave my children and grandchildren with memories not a crisis.

 

[shadowstriker86]

al gore = global warming = global cooling = climate change = idiot scam

 

[Tech Team FTW!]

The ocean has risen by about 1 inch since 1950.
Global warming sure is taking it's sweet time.

 

[Izakflashman]

Yup, same with temperature change.

What Al gore fails to acknowledge that a tropical period emerges before an ice age hits. This means we're due for another one in the next 1000 years or so.

My dad (Almost sixty now, jeeze, times getting on) remembers News reports about people panicing that they were about to go into the next ice age. They were talking about theories of flying over the poles with planes and sprinkling coals on them to stop them from growing and taking over the world. XD lol. we laugh at them, But to be honest, I'm gonna be laughing at us in twenty years time.

Now I may have been a stupid little kid at the time (I was) but does anyone remember about 10 years or so ago people were going nuts over the hole in the ozone layer? Does anyone even care about that anymore? Oh, right, because the hole fixed itself. It's crazy, like the planet can actually take care of itself without our intervention.

Maybe I'm a little bitter that we've once again picked up another "WE ALL GUNNA DIE!!1!!1!one" doomsday show and are giving it legitimacy. Remember back in the day? The beginning of the Nuclear arms race? Where so many MAD scenarios depicted the earth being rendered into a toxic wasteland? That was back when most countries had some measure of self-control and no one was especially fond of fucking over the entire planet. I'm not saying there weren't threats or a few crazies but still. Now we have arrived at the present, and what do we have here? Crazy Islamic radicals who would gladly press the "Smite the World" button if it kills the infidel? Why when people who would gladly use such weapons of overwhelming devastation does NO ONE CARE?! How can they openly state that they want to glass an ENTIRE COUNTRY and commit delicious genocide and no one takes notice?

And why were the Islamic and Russian terrorists changed to just Russians and an Austrian neo-nazi in the movie adaptation of The Sum of All Fears? (Yeah that was a bit of a tangent)

It's all global warming now. It's starting feel like the crazier sects of Christianity screaming about the end of the world every other year. "Yeah the worlds going to end next year....probably... maybe... I'll get back to you.""Yeah I was wrong last time, but I'm sure this time."

Lol, I remember the Ozone layer thing. They were blaming that one on polution as well. I didn't get that one either, since its over australia and NZ, and were not exactly big producers of anything. Even in todays standards of pumping stuff into the air NZ is still rated next to 3rd world developing countries that haven't gotten on their feet yet. So However the hole was made there it didn't have anything to do with us. Ha ha.

If the media started saying that muslims were crazy and wanted to blow shit up they would get half a dozen hate speech laws thrown at them and told they are racist. Oh yea, heard about something the U.N. is endorcing? Our days of saying "Oh my Allah!!!" are numbered. Check it out.
http://www.pickledpolitics.com/archives/2507

the ocean dose 'stack' its self up higher in some places an lower in others, due to the air pressure being diffrent. so it could be 2feet below sea level in one place, and 4 feet above sea level in another.

but its always changing, so one day it might be 4 feet, another it might be 2 another it might be 6 feet.

Ah thank you =). I appreciate that answer. Although my original post had a dab of sarcasm I was genuinely curious. Cheers.

 

[Gruthar]

Lol, I remember the Ozone layer thing. They were blaming that one on polution as well. I didn't get that one either, since its over australia and NZ, and were not exactly big producers of anything. Even in todays standards of pumping stuff into the air NZ is still rated next to 3rd world developing countries that haven't gotten on their feet yet. So However the hole was made there it didn't have anything to do with us. Ha ha.

Now I may have been a stupid little kid at the time (I was) but does anyone remember about 10 years or so ago people were going nuts over the hole in the ozone layer? Does anyone even care about that anymore? Oh, right, because the hole fixed itself. It's crazy, like the planet can actually take care of itself without our intervention.

Err... the holes didn't magically fix themselves, guys. The 'pollution' you're talking about were ChloroFluorocarbons (CFCs), which were used in a whole range of things, ranging from aerosols to air-conditioning. The point of manufacture doesn't matter; they'll drift in the atmosphere, and end up concentrated at the poles. The problem with said CFCs is that once released into the atmosphere, they reach high enough altitudes to become intensely bombarded with UV radiation. This causes them to shed chlorine atoms. What you then get is chlorine + ozone (Cl + O3), the result being ozone gets converted into oxygen. Oxygen is pretty useless against UV, which is good if you like getting sunburnt. In response to this phenomenon, many countries banned CFCs, and the UN moved to phase out CFCs worldwide. The holes are still there, but their progress has been more or less stopped thanks to those measures. That's why you don't really hear about it anymore. Kinda crazy what happens when there's actual science behind the hype, no?

Yes, global climate change is often hyped and misrepresented by the media, environmentalists, and armchair climatologists, but I would be careful to dismiss the scientific data behind the theory simply because you are jaded and/or don't bother to understand it. Consider the consequences if the IPCC is right and the climate change skeptics are wrong. It's not just going to be a 'loss in biodiversity.' No the world won't end, but it won't be so pleasant for many people facing famine and radical changes in weather patterns.

 

[hypothetical fact]

Climate change is set for 2 degrees in fifty years; stop being idiots and jumping up and down because the world hasn't flooded in under 5 years. This goes for pro climate change idiots and anti-climate change idiots alike, everytime something bad happens it is not climate change and just because the media have once again blown it out of proportion does not mean it is false.

BTW it was renamed climate change instead of global warming because the effect is unpredictable and may also cool the Earth into an ice age thanks to the global oceanic conveyor. Or you could watch the day after tomorrow for a more overhyped vision of it.

Point is scientists are always learning new crap and replacing old crap so stop clinging to out of date details it just makes you stupid.

 

[Izakflashman]

Yes, global climate change is often hyped and misrepresented by the media, environmentalists, and armchair climatologists, but I would be careful to dismiss the scientific data behind the theory simply because you are jaded and/or don't bother to understand it. Consider the consequences if the IPCC is right and the climate change skeptics are wrong. It's not just going to be a 'loss in biodiversity.' No the world won't end, but it won't be so pleasant for many people facing famine and radical changes in weather patterns.

Oh definatly it would suck if the skeptics were wrong. and to be honest, in general we should take care of our planet whether we believe in man made climate change or not. We don't want to end up like one of those countries with the beautiful sunsets over the cities because of all the crazy shit floating around up there, with black grime covering everything, and sooty rain.
But What I do disagree with is some of the plans they have for what they are going to do about it. Guilting us into a brand new set of taxes to combat climate chang isn't exactly My idea of a good time at the moment.