Global warming maps



What will your hometown look like as the oceans start to rise? Alex Tingle has used google maps and added flood information.


You can scroll and change the elevation. Terrific educational tool and rather scary. Give it a try and play God here.

The image here is a screen shot of Tokyo at elevation set to 7 meters. Click to enlarge. Discussion here.

Comments

Pandabonium said…
Looks like China stands to loose a lot of farmland.
Martin J Frid said…
That's probably right. Which means, countries that are now heavily depending on imports of food from China (such as Japan and South Korea) will be in trouble.

Of course we could all decide that global warming (and rising sea levels) is not a good idea, and decide to cut down on green house gas emissions. At least the Kyoto Protocol was a first step...

But are we really ready to give up the car, the air conditioner, the vacations by jet planes? Where do we draw the line...?
Pandabonium said…
With global oil production peaking, and demand from developing countries increasing, we are going to have to give up those things anyway. In fact, I just read that Japan may face a grain crisis as the US shifts more of its corn crop to making ethanol.

An interesting proposal is being promoted by journalist/educator Richard Heinberg. Called the Oil Depletion Protocol, it was written by Dr. Colin Campbell, the UK petroleum geologist who started Association for the Study of Peak Oil (of which your countryman Kjell Aleklett is President.)

Anyway, the protocol dovetails nicely with addressing global warming as it looks not only at reducing oil and gas use, but also simultaneously reducing green house emission (ie, no fair burning coal instead). It seems to be a practical, gradual, long term solution.

The website is Oil Depletion Protocol.
Martin J Frid said…
Tony Boys, a good friend here in Japan, has written about the troubles ahead for grain importing countries like Japan:

http://www9.ocn.ne.jp/~aslan/

The Oil Depletion Protocol is a must read. Thanks!
Pandabonium said…
Thanks. I found his website when I first came here two years ago. He has done some excellent work on the papers he has posted there. His organic farming sounds interesting too.

Never had the pleasure of meeting him.
Pandabonium said…
By the way, here is where I read about possible grain shortages in Japan's future: Grain crisis looms in Japan
Martin J Frid said…
I'd like to read that, but the link doesn't seem to work. Just type it in and then I can copy-and-paste.
Pandabonium said…
Sorry. I left out a symbol. Too long to fit in comment box. This should work:

Grain
Martin J Frid said…
OK, that works. Corn (also called maize) is an important grain, although most Japanese probably has no idea that Japan is so dependent on it, except for pop corn at the movie theatre. Quote:

China's emergence as a major corn importer could aggravate the tightness of the global corn market, adding to the pressure caused by growing US demand for ethanol as an alternative fuel and making it hard for Japan to secure enough corn at low cost.

"If China becomes a net corn importer when exportable US corn declines, that will cause serious problems," said Marubeni Research Institute director Akio Shibata, adding that China could become a net importer as early as next year.

Japan, which consumes a massive 16 million tonnes of corn a year, is totally dependent on imports, sourcing over 90 percent of its supply from the United States.

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