I'm certainly not arguing that the flooding of half of Bangladesh would be anything but a disaster. Rather, I was just pointing out that the "refugee crisis" expected from sea level rise will likely be different from what we commonly perceive as a refugee crisis, barring Hansen et al.'s more dire projections proving correct (which they may well, though I'm waiting for more evidence on the subject to take a personal position). If Bangladesh is flooded over the course of, say, 200-300 years, it may resemble more of a demographic shift, perhaps resulting in more crowding in other areas of Bangladesh. But there will not be millions of people who are suddenly homeless.
You are correct in pointing out that adaptation shouldn't distract us too much from the fundamental need for mitigation, especially as worsening effects of climate change make adaptation more difficult over time (e.g. its easier to adapt to a rise from 1 to 2 degrees over current temperatures than 4 to 5). Also, thanks for the link. -Zeke On Jul 5, 8:23 pm, "Michael Tobis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Thing one: your choice of Bangladesh is telling. Where exactly do you > expect half the population of Bangladesh to go? The other half of > Bangladesh? Elsewhere? > > Thing two: It is true that more success at adaptation reduces the > urgency of mitigation but it in no way removes its necessity. The > atmospheric composition must and will eventually restabilize. Whether > civilization is merely inconvenienced or is decimated or is > obliterated in the process is the moral question. Too much early > weight on adaptation increases the difficulties and risks of later > mitigation. > > A friend recently told me, in a discussion of Texas's amazing water > control problems, "a dam is just a flood waiting to happen". > > That all said, Zeke, thanks for your participation! I am looking > forward to hearing more of your perspective. > > I mention one of your postings on my blog here: > > http://initforthegold.blogspot.com/2007/07/environmental-economics-vs... > > mt > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Global Change ("globalchange") newsgroup. Global Change is a public, moderated venue for discussion of science, technology, economics and policy dimensions of global environmental change. Posts will be admitted to the list if and only if any moderator finds the submission to be constructive and/or interesting, on topic, and not gratuitously rude. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/globalchange -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
