Hope You All Like the Mountains!

I'm going to Florida in a few weeks to visit my Uncle, who has been buying up beach-front property there as of late. He's always been a sound investor, and I don't mean to second-guess the guy...but he apparently hasn't been reading his science journals. Or, for that matter, Daily Kos.

Projecting forward in time, the implication is that our future will also see 4-6 m of sea level rise, and that -- given the recent evidence for accelerated flow of both Greenland and Antarctic glaciers -- this may occur much faster than we expect. In the model simulations, Greenland may already be warmer in 2100 than it was at the height of the ... Last InterGlacial (LIG) period, about 125,000 years ago.

See, the thing is, that's anywhere between 13 and 19 additional feet of water. Which, presumably, now-valuable Florida real estate would be beneath. I think actually having water on top of the homes might negatively impact property values. But then again, I am hardly a financial expert. The most crucial fiscal decision facing me on a day-to-day basis is whether or not I have 35 cents for the parking meter.

I'm fairly disappointed about this climate change actually becoming noticable in my lifetime. I think those of us who grew up post-Boomer, in the era of Earth Day and environmental awareness, knew this time would come but always just assumed it would be after we're long-dead. Environmentalism was about looking after the Earth so your children's children could still enjoy the wonders around us. It wasn't about making sure you don't starve to death on the veldt that was once Nebraska before you turn 40.

I'm just saying, the cause was never presented to me as quite so dire. I remember when being concerned about the environment meant worrying that a certain species of stink beetle may, by 2027, go completely extinct. Now it looks like super-freezing clouds may be giving Jake Gyllenhaal hypothermia within the next six months. (When I was a kid, the apocalyptic threats that seriously freaked people out were killer bees, Commies invading America Red Dawn-style, hypodermic needles washing up on the beach and HIV.)

Unfortunately, we're just now managing to get the message across about global warming and environmental protection, and it's pretty much too late. We know just enough about the subject to know how screwed we are, and not a thing more. Delightful.

So, anyway, Unk, if you're reading this...have you considered, perhaps, Colorado for your next move? Or Chile, perhaps? Nepal? The Yukon will probably be pretty nice in another decade or two.