Rising seas will claim 10 percent population

Amidst all the squabbles about climate change, the scientists meeting at Copenhagen this week have indicated that even at the lowest levels of projected sea level rise in the 21st century, could mean that 10% of the world's current population will be hit by rising seas.

At the Copenhagen Climate Congress scientists clarified some of the predictions made in the 2007 IPCC report regarding rising seas: Research presented shows that by 2100 sea level rise could be one meter or more at the upper end of the spectrum. At the lower end of the spectrum it looks unlikely that sea level rise will be less than half a meter. In the 2007 IPCC report sea level rise was projected to be in the range of 18-59cm.

More news will pour in this week. Meanwhile, this should set us all thinking, how do we minimise the damage?

Meanwhile, if you are an advocate of geo-engineering, chew on this latest news: The 1987 Montreal Protocol, that salvaged the ozone layer by banning ozone depleting gases, saw sulfuryl fluoride replacing methyl bromide as a fumigant.

But sulfuryl fluoride, believed to be a saviour of the environment, is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, say researchers at MIT. Fortunately, the amounts in the atmosphere are still tiny. The researchers will publish their findings in the Journal of Geophysical Research.

The whole imbroglio does underscore how tough it is to foresee the consequences of regulations and alternatives. The IPCC finding that some ozone depleting gases like methyl bromide could actually cause global cooling adds to the confusion!

Does it not smack of arrogance to believe we have the prescriptions in hand for all the problems, when the side-effects of our ‘engineering’ are not understood well?