Marshland massacre by sea rise is avoidable

The marshes of Plum Island Estuary, Massachusetts, are among those predicted by scientists to submerge during the next century under conservative projections of sea-level rise. Credit: Matthew Kirwan, USGS

If the sea rises as predicted in some of the most severe scenarios suggested by scientists, which include ice sheets melting, the world’s marshes will become largely submerged near the end of the 21st century. However, if sea rise is more moderate, such wetlands will prove more resilient than previously thought, US, Italian, Belgian and British scientists predict.

These coastal wetlands are important because they absorb energy from storms and preserve shorelines. They also support commercial seafood harvests, absorb pollutants and serve as critical habitats for migratory bird populations. “Tidal wetlands are among the most valuable ecosystems on earth,” wrote US Geological Survey and University of Virginia scientist Matt Kirwan and his colleagues in  a paper published Wednesday.

China-US conflict reveals central climate issue

Is the focus on economic growth the reason why most commentators have low expectations of the current climate change conference in Cancún? Credit: UNFCCC

The nightmare of a battle between arguably the world’s dominant powers – the US and China – has become reality. And although it’s a diplomatic and not a military war, lives are still at stake, because the battleground that they’re fighting over is the world’s climate. Both argue that the other’s refusal to limit CO2 emissions further is preventing meaningful worldwide emissions cuts at the United Nations’ Climate Change Conference in Cancún, Mexico, this week and next. To successfully tackle global warming, a solution to this conflict is vital.

Yet neither side wants to back down, because since the industrial revolution countries’ wealth and power and their CO2 emissions have been intimately related. This can be understood by the fact that the world’s richest countries emit the greatest amounts of greenhouse gases per person, while the poorest countries emit much less. According to the “Carbon Footprint of Nations” website, in 2001 the US emitted 28.6 tonnes per person while China emitted 3.1 tonnes per person.