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!