Policy Wise

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Rising sea levels could damage hundreds of miles of the English and Welsh coast over the next 100 years, according to a study commissioned by the conservation group.Houses, farmland, lighthouses and sand dunes will be submerged as climate change and rising seas fuel the erosion, the “Shifting Shores” report says.”The coast is a canary for climate change,” the report said.”It shows how the effects are happening today and close to home. Sea-level rise and climate change are forecast to increase the scale and pace of coastal change.”The National Trust, which owns nearly one tenth of the coast of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, said some of its most important sites were at risk, including:* Golden Cap, Dorset. The highest point on Britain’s south coast could see erosion increase to more than two meters a year.

* Formby Sands. Over the next 100 years, the sands in the northeastern county of Lancashire could recede by more than 400 meters.[Link]

The problem with the global warming is the the debate is largely ideological. Also, either you are a believer or you are not, there is little chance of holding the middle ground. In this light, the recently released report of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panen of global warming becomes extremely important. A noted group of climate scientists unequivocally held that global warming is’very likely’ caused by human activity. They have predicted the submerging of low lying areas in the next 100 years which would affect as many as 10 million people. But the problem is clear enough-100 years is too far off and 10 million is too low a figure. How do you make people give present prosperity for something which is so ar off especially those who are just beginning to come out of poverty.
Unless you can actually build political capital, there is little chance of this debate going anywhere, for now, at least.

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