Underwater Cabinet Meeting

[GordMay]

Maldives government highlights the impact of climate change - by meeting underwater

The Maldives government has made an eye-catching plea for climate change action by holding the world's first underwater cabinet meeting.

Politicians from the Indian Ocean island nation donned scuba gear this morning to send a message to world leaders ahead of December's UN climate change conference in Copenhagen.

The nation's president Mohammed Nasheed has voiced fears the archipelago will be swamped by raising sea levels unless action is taken to reduce carbon emissions ...

Read more
➥ Maldivian cabinet highlights the impact of climate change - by holding a meeting underwater | Mail Online

[David M]

Maybe that's how all politicians should meet?..underwater. This way they could not talk. Even if they do don AGA masks, their air supply is limited.

[bobsadler]

amazing really when, according to the bbc, there's been no global warming for 11 years BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | What happened to global warming?.

no warming = no sea level rise

in the unlikely event that there is co2 caused global warming then the maldives are certainly doing their bit to help given that they are planning the building dozens of mid-range hotels and guesthouses Maldives targets mass market with affordable hotels - Telegraph#

since the only way mass market tourists can get to their islands is by flying - mainly from europe - it's rather difficult to see how they're chipping in to reduce the maldives' carbon footprint

nothing like a bit of hypocrisy to make the world go round

[David M]

Purchasing a fleet of used Hobie Cats to get tourists off and on the atolls would be more consistent with their goals.

[GordMay]

You’ve seem to have misunderstood the BBC report, and (apparently) confuse weather with climate.

[bobsadler]

nope, didn't misunderstand the bbc at all and in my book an 11 year span is "climate" not "weather" but each to his own

[unbusted67]

Originally Posted by bobsadler

nope, didn't misunderstand the bbc at all and in my book an 11 year span is "climate" not "weather" but each to his own

Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and numerous other meteorological elements in a given region over long periods of time. Climate can be contrasted to weather, which is the present condition of these same elements over periods up to two weeks.

wikipedia

[TaoJones]

The subject of the OP's thread-opening post was the novelty of an "underwater cabinet meeting." To the extent that this thread drifts off into a knock-down, drag-out debate over global warming, please be advised that there are already several threads here with that as the central premise. Search the site if you wish to know how such threads typically end.

Unless this thread can be kept on the subject of the plight of the Maldive Islands in the event of a sea-level rise, and instead devolves into an off-topic political mud-slinging contest, it will be closed. Please don't force that to happen.

Thank you for your cooperation.

TaoJones

[John A]

I don't believe that a rise in the sea levels willbe isolated to the Maldive Islands. duh Each country with ocean shorelines should join in the discussion. The "underwater meeting" was used to draw attention to what will happen, not only in the Maldives but everywhere. Think Bahamas folks.
Although Sea levels have been rising since the end of the last Ice Age. Awareness is now highlighting the real wordwide potential for disaster.

[s/v 'Faith']

The nation's president Mohammed Nasheed has voiced fears the archipelago will be swamped by raising sea levels unless action is taken to reduce carbon emissions ...

Maybe this would be an effective action if taken here in the US...

eye-catching plea for climate change action by holding the world's first underwater cabinet meeting.

Sans air supply of course...

Don't know about global warming (or is it cooling?) but there would be less hot air anyway.

Hey, look at the bright side... if you believe in global warming, the ICW dredging issue will pretty much take care of it's self no?

[Blue Stocking]

For all of us who where born and raised on islands, for me Bermuda, this is a matter of concern about the continued existence of our homeland.
I think many times the problem is that we look at it in the context of our very own short time span, with short term vision. For instance, before we drown, we could build dikes as the Dutch do!! It works for them!
I live on shorefront property, in a house I built 25yrs ago. My wooden dock is supported on an 8x10 wooden beam supported on 2 natural outcrops. As it is not fastened down, I watch the tides carefully to ensure it does not float away. In 25yrs, which I appreciate is a very short time, I have detected no change in sea level. I only make this point to emphasize long and short term thinking. We have only been talking publicly about this issue, and having the panic buttons pushed, very recently.
On the other hand, I read a book in the 70s, written in the 20s, or 30s, by a Norwegian (I think) author, who even back then was commenting on global change. The interesting thing was his source of data. He studied the tapestries, artwork, and written reports defining, or illustating changes in the designs of Baltic boats, nets, and the types of fish caught, over the centuries. Various species of fish migrate in accordance with favourable sea conditions, eh!! Different fish, different conditions.
In my opinion, this is the closest we can get to actual centuries of observation. I think the second best is ice sampling.
In the spirit of global brotherhood, the Maldives Parliament can meet on my front lawn, 40ft above sea level.

[GordMay]

Bob:

According to the article, on one side, we have un-named sceptics, and on the other side named/identified* experts, and (apparently) Don Easterbrook from Western Washington University in the middle, none of whome suggest "no global Warming = no sea level rise".

* The UK Met Office's Hadley Centre
* Mojib Latif, based at the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences at Kiel University in Germany, one of the world's top climate modellers, and a member of the IPCC.

Without granting equal legitimacy to our respective popsitions, I wonder which error would be more disastrous:

Were my majority “chicken little” warnings to be heeded, but prove unfounded ...
or
Were your minority “pollyanna” reassurances to be accepted, but turn out wrong ...

[idpnd]

Originally Posted by bobsadler

in the unlikely event that there is co2 caused global warming

In the unlikely event you are employed by various oil companies

[gbanker]

the island nations just don't have enough clout to cause any changes and the industrial nations don't have the will. that's just the way it is so forget the debates about what we should or shouldn't be doing. IMHO

[roverhi]

IIRC, the reason the Maldives are having water level problems is they've effectively lowered their height. They've mined the islands to make cement to build ocean front tourist hotels which has made interior flooding a problem without any rise in sea level. Ocean levels have only risen about a 1/2" in the last 200 years. The earth has undergone much greater temperature changes in much shorter periods of time over the last 2,000 years. A global cooling period caused widespread famine in northern latitudes in the 1400s. Global warming probably kept a similar catastrophe from afflicting lower latitudes because of crop failures caused by the breakdown of societal order after the fall of the Roman Empire.