Global Warming

NewOrder · **on:** September 13, 2004, 11:34:12 AM

I live in a town near the sea, so in the summer everybody goes to the beach that is just 5 km from where I live (I'm kind of on the outskirts but it's still a very important place of my town). I've noticed that in the last few years the sea is becoming closer and closer to land, taking with it large areas of sand, I don't know if it has to do with global warming, but a town near by as experienced even worse damage, but this one is due to the constant building of dams (I don't know how you spell it but those things in the water that give electricity) that stop the sand from going from the rivers to the sea. I'd like to know if any of you know or have to face with problems like this.

Petrie · **Reply #1 on:** September 13, 2004, 07:27:42 PM

No, you spelled it right, it is dams.

Global warming is definitely a major, if not touchy, situation that affects us all. In a way, everyone is responsible with their craving for more...if you're on a computer, the electricity has to be generated someone, and it's probably through coal fired plants. Water is used, but it cannot meet the demand necessary; wind is an option but cannot meet strong demand either. Nuclear power has a lot going for it, but it's dangerous as I'm reminded of Chenobyl. Solar is another option but it cannot meet demand either.

Perhaps those renewable sources of energy I mentioned could be used to offset some of the demand but they can never fully bear the whole of our energy demands. :huh:

NewOrder · **Reply #2 on:** September 14, 2004, 06:50:06 AM

That is not quite true... once my physics teacher asked the class why were coll power plants more used than dams, I said becuase dams couldn't give enough energy, and then he said, "There's a dam in Mozambique that feeds the entire country and some parts of South Africa".. so I said then it's because coll power plants are cheaper to build. Even though we have the resources to build things that can be healthy to the enviroment and still give us enough energy for our use money is always the bigger isue, I guess if it continues like thi it'll be to late to save the planet... and all that because some peaces of paper \:

Malte279 · **Reply #3 on:** September 14, 2004, 07:51:05 AM

Hi!
Though I don’t live anywhere near the ocean I too noticed a couple of things which (under consideration of my interpretation) mean that either I’m paranoid or that the global warming is really taking effect already. Much as I would prefer the first possibility I’m afraid the second is more likely.
The number of natural disasters based on the climate or changing weather patterns is increasing. There have been huge fires almost everywhere during the last years. In Portugal, the United States, Australia, France... Germany was somewhat lucky about fires so far as, though there were some, they didn’t spread as much. In 2002 it may be that it was a result from the heavy rainfall. While everywhere around the woods were burning down large regions in eastern Germany were flooded due to the heavy rainfall. It caused tremendous damage, and it was the second time in just a few years. In 2003 it was exactly the other way round. It was so dry and hot (candles were melting without being lighted!) that the water level of the river Rhine dropped so far that ships could no longer use that water route. Some ships actually ran aground! The climate caused terrible wood fires that year; and thousands of, especially older people died from the immediate effects of the heat (dehydration, heat stroke, sunstroke and the like).
This year we had two tornados in Germany. Tornados! In Germany! Though we do have storms on regular basis tornados in Germany used to be about as likely as a blizzard in the Sahara! And again this too had happened one or two years ago already (while previous to that time I never ever heard about a tornado over here).
And then there is the winter time. Each year we get less snow over here. When I was younger (I’m not talking of the days of ancient Rome but of like 15 years ago) we usually had one or two months of snow each year. Months became weeks, and weeks became days! Meanwhile we really have snow for only a few days each year, and most of it melts immediately! I can hardly remember the last time we had a “white Christmas”!
All this combined seems too much for a coincident!

Petrie · **Reply #4 on:** September 14, 2004, 08:31:35 AM

Mozambique does not have the energy consumption level that the US has.

Therefore, while it may work well for them, a similar dam could help offset the power uses over here in the US, but they could not do it alone.

Malte's quite right about White Christmases. I've been through some really BIG snowstorms up here (1993, 2003) but they're pretty infrequent. The changing weather could contribute to how much rain comes to a certain area and if it's cold enough it becomes snow and hence you get 18 inches of snow on the ground.

I wouldn't be surprised if all this tropical weather that is bombarding Florida one hit after another is related to warmer weather patterns over the oceans. <_<

NewOrder · **Reply #5 on:** September 14, 2004, 09:19:55 AM

I'm actually getting the oposite. For example, in August we usually have temperatures of about 35 to 40 degrees celcius, but las month it hardly passed 25 and it rained for days. Even now, I usually only start to wear sweaters and trousers in the middle of October, and now I'd have to be out of my mind to go out with just shorts and a t-shirt... On tv they say that something like this happened 50 years ago, so or either the climate has this sort of circle that repetes itself every 50 years or so, or something is happening...