Blitzen
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I need a website
That doesn't exist, apparently.
I want to see how much of the UK will be under water if the sea-level rises 10 feet.
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http://forums.millarworld.tv/index.php?showtopic=90564&st=20
It's not clicky, though, sorry
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7/31/2009, 9:29 pm
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David Meadows
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Re: I need a website
https://www.cresis.ku.edu/research/data/sea_level_rise/h_northern-europe.html
Last edited by David Meadows, 7/31/2009, 10:40 pm
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"A good idea will keep you awake during the morning, but a great idea will keep you awake during the night."
Marilyn vos Savant
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7/31/2009, 10:39 pm
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Blitzen
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Re: I need a website
Thank you, that's perfect.
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http://forums.millarworld.tv/index.php?showtopic=90564&st=20
It's not clicky, though, sorry
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8/1/2009, 12:39 am
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Reythia
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Re: I need a website
I remind myself why living in the Netherlands could be a Bad Thing some day...
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8/1/2009, 4:33 am
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Firlefanz
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Re: I need a website
Mhm. I think QS did show this to me a while ago.
Scary stuff. 
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8/1/2009, 6:14 am
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QS2
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Re: I need a website
Somewhat I guess, though with the Dutch dams they can probably keep a meter or two rise out still, especially if they continue reinforcing them this century. Might play havoc with a lot of the farmland though, as sea levels rise, brine water will tend to get closer to the surface and you'd need more sweet water on top to keep it away. It's quite possible that in the lowest areas it will become uneconomical to use standard farming methods, or alternately, plants that like salt will be have to be used. 
If you want to see really scary, you should look at what the same sea level rises would do to the Florida area. That's just not funny looking at all, I hope they have a plan over there on what to do? Or would the USA just abandon most of the cities there instead and leave it to the seas? 
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8/1/2009, 2:50 pm
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Blitzen
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Re: I need a website
I'm actually worldbuilding for a future project set in the year 2100. I'd be interested in anyone's thoughts on anything that will happen 91 years from now.
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Quick! Competition! Vote for your favourite comic scripts
http://forums.millarworld.tv/index.php?showtopic=90564&st=20
It's not clicky, though, sorry
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8/1/2009, 6:44 pm
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Pastor Rick
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Re: I need a website
In 91 years:
1. mankind will finally have a colony established on the moon (100 years later than it could have been done).
2. the earth will be colder.
3. there will still be war.
4. there will be a hotel/resort in earth orbit.
5. we will finally get to mars in a manned vehicle.
6. computers will be holographic display enabled.
7. 40 of today's countries will no longer exist.
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9/1/2009, 9:11 pm
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QS2
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Re: I need a website
Eh... it isn't likely the Earth will be colder. Unless we get in to major geoengineering works between then and now, there is no way that will happen.
So basically,
1. Earth will be warmer.
2. Fusion power was finally developed
3 Nanotechnology is normal
4 AI has finally been invented
5 Relatively cheap space access thanks to nanotechnology probably.
6 The Trade Unions (ie EU, NAFTA, etc) will probably have split the world between them
7 China and India are Super Powers, the USA is relegated to great power status (Assuming those nations still exist)
8 People may no longer die of old age.
I could name plenty more really, I imagine you might not want to use all the points suggested here either, if they don't work for your idea on how the story should go.
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9/1/2009, 11:19 pm
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Pastor Rick
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Re: I need a website
It could get scary http://www.usatoday.com/news/science/astro/2001-02-15-orbit.htm
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9/2/2009, 3:57 pm
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Reythia
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Re: I need a website
I think this quote in that article sums up my thoughts on the matter:
quote:
"Their analysis shows that it works, but I don't think we'd want to do it this way," says astronomer Jack Lissauer of NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.
Rick, why do you think the Earth will be noticably colder in only ~100 years? Just out of curiosity.
QS, I can't help but think what a terrible, terrible thing it would be if people didn't die of old age. I know that probably sounds harsh, but given the over-population problem we've already got... Messy, very messy! Reminds me of some of the issues I had with the "Red Mars" books.
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9/3/2009, 5:48 pm
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Loud G
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Re: I need a website
quote:
QS2 wrote:
8 People may no longer die of old age.
For some reason this makes me think that something went terribly terribly wrong and everyone dies before they reach old age 
--- Reading: Mistborn
Writing: Eriadhin
"Life is like a book, except it takes longer to get to the climax."
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9/3/2009, 8:19 pm
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QS2
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Re: I need a website
Reythia my view on dying of old age is probably the direct opposite of yours. I think it's a terrible thing and horrendous waste. The only thing you need to do to counter over population is to kick child birth down to near zero meanwhile. (Admittedly I trivialize this issue, but child bearing becomes a lot less important any time soon, if you aren't dying anyway) In comparison now we're training up geniuses, only to have them die, just as they are at there most expert, or for a more emotional example, think of all the traumas people get from there parents dying.
So as far as I'm concerned old age is a terrible thing foisted on us by evolution and we don't need it any more and how sooner it is gone, how quicker the massive amounts of suffering created by it can be averted. Not to mention dragging the developing world out of its misery will become much cheaper then. Or in other words, can be done much quicker.
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9/3/2009, 11:03 pm
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Pastor Rick
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Re: I need a website
quote:
Reythia wrote:
Rick, why do you think the Earth will be noticably colder in only ~100 years? Just out of curiosity
I couldn't find the original article but this one here gives almost the same conclusion as a distinct possibility.
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9/4/2009, 4:07 am
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QS2
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Re: I need a website
Ehh, that's a fringe theory, giving more weight to shifts in sun activity then it should, they forget to mention the activity shifts they are talking about are something like 0.1% which is quite a bit less then the effect of for instance CO2. It's best to just follow the IPCC opinion on climate change and in all seriousness the IPCC is actually conservative in its predictions. Which can be seen in it being continually forced to upgrade the severity of its predictions.
PS, This means that people favouring sources like the Sun being responsible for the entire changes we see, are in effect predicting that CO2 will have a truly gigantic effect indeed. After all, they are saying the Earth's climate will shift under small changes after all.
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9/4/2009, 9:57 am
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David Meadows
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Re: I need a website
quote:
QS2 wrote:
In comparison now we're training up geniuses, only to have them die, just as they are at there most expert
But all the best work done by "geniuses" in the fields of science and mathematics is done by young men (and women). There seems to be a point where you burn out, or possibly you just get stuck in a mindset and can no longer produce innovative work. The same could be said of the arts, though that's a more subjective matter.
A society where life is massively prolonged and the population is balanced by massively lowering the birth rate is a society that will no longer be able to innovate and progress. We might all become extremely good at what we do, but we will no longer have anyone who can do something different.
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Marilyn vos Savant
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9/4/2009, 11:11 am
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Reythia
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Re: I need a website
quote:
Pastor Rick wrote:
I couldn't find the original article but this one here gives almost the same conclusion as a distinct possibility.
Ah, I see and understand.
Rick, another "little ice age" is certainly possible, I agree. (Not definitive, as QS said, but possible.) But remember, you said you thought the Earth would be noticably cooler in less than 100 years. Now, if it'd been 500 years, I'd say there was a slim chance, assuming we got our own human-made planetary heating problems under control. But even if we totally stopped burning all CO2 and other "greenhouse" gasses today, since there's a lag in the effect on the planet, our global temperatures would STILL be hotter in 100 years than now. (Which is very depressing to me, but that makes it no less true.) As the article you linked to says (and I agree):
quote:
As for an overall cooling of the Earth, some scientists say that it is possible. Nigel Weiss told New Scientist that overall cooling would be less than 1 degree Fahrenheit. Weiss and at least two other scientists, astrophysicists Angela Speck and Adrian Merlott, note that any change in temperature due to a decrease in sun activity would be small in comparison to the potential climate change from global warming.
So like I say, it's possible that if we fix our own things, and if the Sun's anomalous cool period continues for several hundred years (or gets much, much worse), that we could eventually see a decrease in global temperatures due to it. But I can't see that happening in only 100 years.
Also, after reading an article, I had a question for those of you who might know more about the topic than I do (QS? Meadows? Anyone?) The article Rick posted also says this:
quote:
New Scientist points out that decreased solar winds would allow more harmful cosmic rays to make it into the solar system, and astronauts would be in greater danger of getting cancer or other complications if exposed to those rays.
Which makes no sense to me. I know for a FACT that our satellites are actually being hit by a lot FEWER nasty solar rays and particles now. This makes aerospace engineers happy, since it decreases the amount the sun pushes our 'babies' into the planet by a huge margin, thus increasing the maximum lifetime of our satellites -- by something like 3-5 years for my satellites. Not inconsiderable. But anyhow, given no changes in the Van Allen belts or atmosphere (both protect Earth and near-Earth from radiation), how would a quieter Sun produce MORE cosmic rays? OH! Do they mean the non-solar ones? Like from other stars? Okay, that'd make sense -- but are there really more of those than solar ones? I don't have the data required to dispute this completely, but I'm very skeptical. Anyone know more?
--- -- YAR! |
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9/4/2009, 4:52 pm
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Reythia
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Re: I need a website
quote:
QS2 wrote:
Reythia my view on dying of old age is probably the direct opposite of yours. I think it's a terrible thing and horrendous waste. The only thing you need to do to counter over population is to kick child birth down to near zero meanwhile. (Admittedly I trivialize this issue, but child bearing becomes a lot less important any time soon, if you aren't dying anyway) In comparison now we're training up geniuses, only to have them die, just as they are at there most expert, or for a more emotional example, think of all the traumas people get from there parents dying.
So as far as I'm concerned old age is a terrible thing foisted on us by evolution and we don't need it any more and how sooner it is gone, how quicker the massive amounts of suffering created by it can be averted. Not to mention dragging the developing world out of its misery will become much cheaper then. Or in other words, can be done much quicker.
Oh, I understand where you're coming from. Certainly there's truth in it. I mean, by the time most people learn how to do their jobs really, really well, they're about ready to retire. So an extended life span would be helpful to society, I agree.
IDEALLY.
And there's the rub. While I agree that it's a nice idea in theory, I see two MAJOR social problems with it (besides Meadow's comments, that is). In order of seriousness:
1.) Historically, it's been nearly impossible to change birthrates within less than two generations. That is, if you come from a culture that usually produces 10 children per family, and move to a country where most families only have 2 kids, you're still more likely to have 10 kids than 2. I don't see any real way of changing this, short of temporary sterilization or forced abortions, which I suspect won't be well appreciated. It's human nature to lean towards the traditions they grew up with. Which, for most people, includes children. So if we shot everyone up with an "immunization" to old age, I'd argue that the first generation would still have the same number of kids (though maybe a bit later in life), and the second generation would also have at least some. Which, if they all survived, puts us at around 2-3 times the number of people on this planet, for all eternity. I do not believe that population is sustainable.
2.) Even if we look beyond the first few generations, where there's a societal drive to produce children, consider the biological drive. Trust me, as a 29-year-old woman, there IS such a thing. Quite frankly, some people WANT to have kids and get great satisfaction (and frustration!) out of it. Some of that is cultural, yes. But a lot is also biological. People LIKE being parents and often WANT to be parents. I think there would be a huge hole if we made that impossible or illegal. To limit the number of kids might be possible and advisable (even in today's world WITHOUT such an "immunization"!). But telling people to stop reproducing entirely (or almost so)? I just don't see that happening. And if it did, I think it'd hurt our society in the long run. Children are frustrating and a lot of work, yes, but they also remind us to lighten up and have fun, to be willing to love and help, to look at the world from a different angle, to never stop learning and to remember that no matter what we do we still have valuable lessons to teach. A world with no children would be flat and sterile to me. And there's no practical way to have a world where no one grows old, but children still abound.
--- -- YAR! |
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9/4/2009, 5:06 pm
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