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Island nations call for steep emission cuts to curb rising seas

Posted at 5:41 AM on 03 Dec 2008

At the United Nations climate conference in Poland this week, a coalition of over 40 island nations called for extremely ambitious reductions in world greenhouse-gas emissions, fearing the effects of rising seas. The nations proposed that industrialized countries slash their emissions more than 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 and more than 95 percent by 2050. "We are not prepared to sign a suicide agreement that causes small island states to disappear," said Selwin Hart of Barbados.

source: Reuters

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Comments: (5 comments)

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Euclod

I've been running the numbers on "sea ice" and something doesn't add up.

Ok, start with the radius of the Earth...according to Google, its 6378.1 km. That makes the volume 1086832411937 km^3. Now, a one millimeter increase in radius, changes the volume by ~ 511 km~3.

The total sea ice volume according to NOAA

http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/essay_untersteiner.html

is 175000.000000 km^3.

For these calculations, let's say the Earth is entirely covered in water. Let's also ignore the change in volume as ice turns to water ( the water would be 92 percent less in volume)

http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/122Adensityice.htm ...

That means if every bit of Arctic Ice melted, at most it would create something like a .3 meter ocean rise.

Yes, 1/3 of a meter, which is about 1 foot.

...if there are self made Purgatories, then we all have to live in them.
--"This Side of Paradise", TOS

by jabailo at 4:37 PM on 03 Dec 2008

Euclod is about right.

First off, your link to NOAA doesn't show me a number of 175000 km^3 for volume of sea ice. At least not after looking and looking for ten minutes. My mistake if I can't see it.

Secondly, water would not be 92% less in volume once it had melted from an ice cube. You have the equation backwards--the ice would be about 9% larger than the water. Have you ever known a block of ice to melt down to 92% of the ice's volume?

Thirdly, and most importantly, the water would be added to the volume of the water that sits above the crust of the Earth--not the Earth's entire voulme. The volume of the oceans is about 1.35 billion km^3 and thus the melted ice would have a much higher effect.

by ironivy at 8:37 PM on 03 Dec 2008

SLR

ironivy: Actually, it's only the surface area of the oceans that needs to be known, not the volume (as well as how much the area changes as sea level changes).

Jabailo: that article is about artic sea ice, it doesn't include the Arctic, Greenland, or glaciers elsewhere. And I don't think there would be much sea level rise from the arctic, considering that most of that ice is floating.

Also, you haven't considered thermal expansion.

Here's an article from an AGW skeptic that seems to have decent calculations: http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/environment/waterworld.ht ...

check out http://www.envirowiki.info, the knowledge database for environmentalists and activists.

by naught101 at 9:38 PM on 03 Dec 2008

perhaps the topic should be how to cut emissions

I see 40 island nations sending an alarm call to the world because they are in the process of being submerged due to global warming. Maybe we should be talking and writing about how to reduce our emissions as sharply as they are suggesting.

I suggest starting with travel, a huge carbon emitter: http://www.diamondcutlife.org/rethinking-the-entitlement- ...

Alison Wiley at Diamond-Cut Life
Portland, Oregon

by Alison Wiley at 11:09 PM on 03 Dec 2008

Lead by example

Island nations have wind, wave, and solar energy resources aplenty. They generally have short distance travel on the islands, making electric cars practical, and the possibility of wind/electric boats between.

Islands depend on dwindling ocean life for food. Eco-friendly fishing and aquaculture are really good examples they could set. Renewably powered desalinization systems would address water conservation.

Waste recycling,organic fertilizer, and biogas backup energy production would help use limited farming space to the best advantage.

Wealthier island states and nations should be leading these efforts. And helping the poorer islands to adopt these GHG saving technologies.

Come on New Zealand. A manufacturing hub for green energy island economies? There's a plan Hillary could encourage, Hawaii could play a big part.

http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog John Schneider, Northern Wisconsin

by amazingdrx at 11:39 PM on 03 Dec 2008

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