Alberto wrote:
I can compare Bangladesh with the poorest areas in my hometown, Rio de Janeiro, who is "located between sea and mountain[*]". _If_ rising sea waters is not a myth [**], then the coastal areas would be the first to sink. But no poor guys worry about ecology, and keep doing disastrous things to the environment, like dumping trash in the sea or razing the tree coverage of the hills.
An sea level increase of 1 meter will flood 15% of Bangladesh. Look at the map, the whole place is a river delta.
[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Satellite_image_of_Bangladesh_in_October_2001.jpg ]
[**] if you put ice in a cup, and let it melt, the water level doesn't rise. Sea levels might rise if we consider ice in Antarctica and inland, but there might be other factors here.
Two things. The ice in western Antarctica and Greenland is melting at unprecedented rates. This is water flowing from land to the ocean and resulting in an increase in sea level. Second, while the fact that Arctic ice melt will not effect sea level directly, the change in emissivity between reflective ice and absorbent open ocean will speed the warming of the oceans and have who knows what effect on global weather patterns. So yea, there are other factors here. 8^)
-- Doug _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
