A major problem that will develope from the water rise is a lack of electricity generation. Most power stations are near sea level especially Nuclear plants.
Yeah theres one here on the edge of the coast (here) and the sea is effectively eroding at the coast and as sea level increases the more exposed the plant will be, heh.
Well said, the most sensible speech I've heard all my life on Global Warming.. Not if everyone keeps it clean, right now it's all good.. Just a nice casual debate..
I'm not sure what your point is in reference to the text you quoted. But, also in reference to that quote, I take issue with the statement that "things expand when they heat up." Some things expand when they heat up. Other things, like water, evaporate. The issue with global warming is not that the water already in the oceans will expand (because, well, it won't), but that water reserves in the form of land-bound ice will melt. This is the phenomenon that is expected by some to cause a drastic rise in the sea levels.
I would like to thank JohnMaclane for his picture explaining what is actually meant by saying "ice floats". lol
According to everything I've read, the oceans are warming up. If anyone knows anything about the thermal properties of water, they will realize that in order for air to heat up the oceans the air would have to be a LOT hotter than the 1 or 2 degrees science says it has increased because of global warming. So, the climate changes that are happen are more likely a result of the oceans warming up, and not the air caused by human activity. The issue is very complex, but almost all of what is being said about GW is just polical and social missinformation. With that said, it'd be pretty naive to claim that humans aren't having any impact on Earth. The question is to what degree. IMO that degree is quite small. I also fully believe that the Earth system is very dynamic and will cope with our influence and balance itself out. The Earth and nature have been around FAR longer than humans have been around. It will adapt, humans will adapt. What bothers me most is what will be lost in the meantime - particually undiscovered species and the rain forest, etc... That truly bothers me - but this global warming scare is just a bunch of politics and science trying to stay fed.
actually its the heat being unable to escape that the problem. Its a combination of warmer seas and and atmosphere trapping hear. The ice floating in the ocean isn't so much the issue. The glacial ice when introduces the additional ice which melts is the problem.
+1000. You know what's great about science? Your opinions don't have any weight. Disbelieving in something doesn't make it untrue. Head + Sand = no frigging difference.
Actually a relevant picture. If that melted, then the water level would stay exactly the same (not counting evaporation). However, if the ice was suspended on something, then it melting would cause the water level to rise. (Oops, I meant to hit edit, but hit quote instead.)
When water is frozen, the molecules form an organised rigid pattern, the spacial separation between molecules increases - thus its density goes down. Tadaa, ice floats.
