global warming, a different look

[jack grebe]

ok, by now I have to admit that the climate is changing. what does the future hold for these changing weather patterns? what areas of the country/globe are going to be more temperate,which are going to get a hole lot worse? are deserts going to be wetter? swamps going to dry up? florida going to be snow bound? Palm trees in maine? :confused:

[PeterSibley]

Australia, for one is going to be very much drier :( and we REALLY don't need that !

[shamus]

I read the other day that average sea temperature on Tassie's east coast has risen 2.5 degrees over the last 10 years due to the extension of the East Australian Current southwards. That might be good. We now have a coral reef and fish species appearing which 'belong' much further north. But kelp beds are dying, which are the habitat for our lobster fishery, so that might be bad.

[WX]

We are apparently heading for the hottest summer on record. I'm going to work on the assumption that this wet season is going to be very very wet.
the rainfall here can vary between 1000mm and 3000mm per annum...I'm expecting somewhere close to the latter. The Wet is usually around March/April but can vary either way.

[ 11-02-2005, 05:29 AM: Message edited by: WX ]

[Sea Frog]

I would recommend you visit Camargue before the end of the Century if you're young and it's on your list. :D :eek:

[George.]

Good thing I got to see New Orleans while it was still there...

[ahp]

In about 200 years, when the Antarctic icecap melts, where I live will be an off-shore sandbar. Meanwhile, real estate prices are still going up, probably driven by Republican demand (global warming doesn't exist).

[WWheeler]

I got some moose pasture I can sell you - it'll be looking good in fifty years.

[Wild Dingo]

Peter and WX I heard that the other week... whaaaaaaaaahooo!! SUMMERS COMIN!!!! Ooooooooooh yeah to be warm wearin shorts and singlet again :cool:

The good with the bad eh Shamus... but Tazzy is a tough little pimple she'll be right ol son! ;)

The weathers been totally weird for months now... and Ive been expecting this summer whenever it comes to be hot as hell and long... ooh thank goodness for the summer I know we need winter and rain and all that obnoxious cold weather for the farmers and all those sorts

But did you blokes hear the best news of all???? mmmmmmmmmmmm???

SUMMERS COMEING!!!!

oops sorry you blokes up there about to enter your freeze and wet winters... but

SUMMERS COMEING!! Im gonna be WARM! you hear that? IM GOING TO BE WARM AGAIN...

Out with the barbie... out with the shorts... out with the beach gear out with the sunnies... oooooooohh bliss! Imagine 10 days straight of 40C man now imagine me in that picture now see that flamin great huge smile spread all over my dial? THATS SUMMER!!!

Now theres DEVINE for you Jack!! :D :cool:

[High C]

Originally posted by George.:
Good thing I got to see New Orleans while it was still there...The heart of the city, the oldest sections, are pretty much unscathed.

Come see us!

[jack grebe]

been there, done that,got smashed :rolleyes:

[jack grebe]

I guess what I am realling looking for is temperate climates in the us in say 50 to 60 yrs.I want to buy land for my grand kids retirement

[Bruce Hooke]

One of the trickier aspects of global warming is trying to figure out what will happen in particular places. The overall trend is clear, the detailed impacts are harder to work out.

With that caveat, here are some general notes:

In many areas the weather is likely to become more varied -- bigger temperature swings, more violent storms, heavier rainstorms, and so on. This would argue for choosing locations that are more protected from the impact of such events, which means avoiding low-lying areas near rivers, vulnerable coastlines, and so on. I believe, as a general rule, the further you go from the equator the stronger the impacts will be (except that some areas near the equator may see things like deeper droughts, with horrible consequences since some of these areas already support too many people on what is already pretty marginal land). But overall the temperature change will be greatest in the arctic regions, which will see radical changes, and less extreme in more temperate areas, where the changes will likely be less radical (but more personal to many of us!).

In New England we are likely to see a slow shift to the north of our climate zones. Sugar Maples, for example, will likely no longer be that happy in most of northern New England so over time the northern New England forest will likely become more like the southern New England forest, while the southern New England forest becomes more like forests even further south. What may get ugly is the transition period when we may see more issues with lots of trees of a given species dying off as a result of insect infestations that used to be stopped by the cold winter weather. This sort of thing can create hillsides of dead trees. HOWEVER, there is a big "but" in this, which is that if, as some have forecast, the Gulf Stream shuts down, then New England would instead get a quite a bit colder. Europe would really get slammed in this scenerio.

Realistically, unless you are trying to hit a particlar climate zone, I don't know of anything that would indicate that, say, Pennsylvania would be nicer or less nice than Maine in 50 years. To someone who likes cool weather Maine might be better, but that is a personal preference. I would focus mostly on avoiding trouble-prone areas like flood plains, beaches, and so on. In terms of land value there is also something to be said for buying land that is in more limited supply, such as lake or ocean front land (but see the earlier note about vulnerable coastlines).

Global warming aside, families are awfully hard to predict, so if you are looking to buy some land for your grandkids I would focus on land that will yield benefits now at least as much as far down the road when they may have decided that the other side of the country or the world is a better place to live and that managing land in, say, New England, does not make sense. I have seen the great benefits that can come to a family if someone wise (and reasonably well off) gets a place where everyone can gather and have fun. Back in the 60's my grandparents got a bit of land on the coast of Maine and built a summer house. That house was full of Cousins, Aunts, Uncles and other family all summer long, which created wonderful family ties and memories that will last for many, many years, even if that "camp" passes out of the hands of my family (which I do not foresee any time soon!).

[WX]

Don't get too much sun Wild Dingo, getting melanomas cut out of your back is quite unpleasant...believe me I know! :eek:

[George.]

Originally posted by High C:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by George.:
Good thing I got to see New Orleans while it was still there...The heart of the city, the oldest sections, are pretty much unscathed.

</font>[/QUOTE]smile.gif