Sea Level Rise & New Climate Assessment

[Lynn McGeein]

Article on key findings of recently released National Climate Assessment:

http://www.climatesciencewatch.org/2014/05/12/2national-climate-assessment-key-findings-part-1/

Interesting map on U.S. coastal areas and projected sea level rise:

http://sealevel.climatecentral.org/

Just wondering if anyone is taking climate change issues into account, even as a minor factor, when deciding where to invest? Came across this after someone told me my current target area, Virginia Beach, was sinking, so exacerbating any sea level rise. Turns out, it's like the 2nd most vulnerable location (after New Orleans) in the U.S. I realize 2040 or 2060 is a long way off, but we feel this may be a valid argument as our goal is to leave our property to our children. It would be frustrating to invest in rentals that are literally underwater at about the time they are paid in full.

[Kimberly T.]

Back in the 1970s, "all" the scientists were insisting we were heading into "global cooling" and entering a new ice age. Now, they're "all" saying it's global warming. Even though global temperatures have been dropping. Frankly, I think their egos are overinflated.

The earth has had large temperature fluctuations and changes in climates throughout history. About 5,000 years ago, the Sahara Desert was lush, fertile farmland. There are documented periods in Great Britain when they were, and then weren't, able to grow grapes for wine - it keeps going back and forth. Anyone who has taken a thermodynamics class will understand when I refer to the oceans as a "heat sink" - that is, they absorb excess heat when the atmosphere is hot and give off heat when the atmosphere is cool. The earth is capable of balancing these things, which is why organisms have been able to survive and adapt to the slow, mild changes that do occur. To think that anything we're doing is significantly impacting the climates on earth is, in my opinion, arrogant. We simply aren't that powerful. We are a drop in the bucket.

All that is stated in order to preface my opinion: I won't buy anything that is very close to an ocean that gets hurricanes, but not because of global warming. It's simply because I don't want the risk related to the possible damage and I don't want to pay for that insurance. So, it's a personal investment/risk assessment choice.