Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

BumRushDaShow

(145,331 posts)
Thu Jan 16, 2025, 12:59 PM 11 hrs ago

Major oil ports are threatened by rising sea levels

Source: Salon

Published January 16, 2025 5:12AM (EST)


According to a recent report by the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative (ICCI), a worldwide group of scientists who study Earth’s frozen regions, the rapidly accelerating melting of all our ice is raising sea levels. Ironically, this is threatening the very industry overwhelmingly responsible: the fossil fuel industry, which will definitely feel the strain of rising sea levels, which is already impacting coastal regions across the globe.

As a result, oil ports in cities like Houston and Galveston and in nations like China and Saudi Arabia are threatened with being overwhelmed, according to the report. As sea levels rise, coastal communities become increasingly vulnerable to flooding and other extreme weather events. When those events occur, their infrastructure and other valuable resources get compromised.

Much of the damage from rising sea levels is baked into humanity’s future, but these losses can be mitigated. As the authors write, costs and damages will be even more extreme, “with many regions experiencing sea-level rise or water resource loss well beyond adaptation limits in this century if our current level of emissions continues – leading towards a rise of 3º C or more.”

For the first time in human history, Earth had an average global temperature 1.5º C higher than pre-industrial levels in 2024. That was the threshold established by the 2015 Paris climate accord as a possible tipping point for containing damage to the planet. As greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane are released into the atmosphere, they trap heat (hence "greenhouse" ), warming the planet in ways that cause extreme weather from droughts and heat waves to hurricanes and rising sea levels.

Read more: https://www.salon.com/2025/01/16/major-oil-ports-are-threatened-by-rising-sea-levels/?in_brief=true



Link to ICCI REPORT - State of the Cryosphere Report 2024
10 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Major oil ports are threatened by rising sea levels (Original Post) BumRushDaShow 11 hrs ago OP
The damage to infrastructure is going to be incalculable. Irish_Dem 11 hrs ago #1
Infrastructure costs are depreciated over a predictable lifetime. JustABozoOnThisBus 9 hrs ago #4
Businesses don't want to pay to rebuild. Irish_Dem 9 hrs ago #5
should be the definition of irony lapfog_1 11 hrs ago #2
Despite their outward denial of climate change for decades, with no due respect intended, Firestorm49 9 hrs ago #3
My pet peeve, list the Fahrenheit. (Not on BumRush) Buddyzbuddy 8 hrs ago #6
In this case BumRushDaShow 8 hrs ago #7
Thank you BumRush. Buddyzbuddy 6 hrs ago #8
Oh I know BumRushDaShow 6 hrs ago #9
I appreciate it. Buddyzbuddy 6 hrs ago #10

Irish_Dem

(61,025 posts)
1. The damage to infrastructure is going to be incalculable.
Thu Jan 16, 2025, 01:14 PM
11 hrs ago

The cost or rebuilding or moving it will be astronomical.

JustABozoOnThisBus

(23,872 posts)
4. Infrastructure costs are depreciated over a predictable lifetime.
Thu Jan 16, 2025, 03:36 PM
9 hrs ago

Replacement costs should be built into the current business accounting model of the company or governmental unit that owns it. They only need to add on the cost of acquiring land to build future versions, instead of rebuilding in the current place.

It's certainly not "free", but maybe not incalculable or astronomical. But the planning needs to start. And we don't have an administration that is capable.

Irish_Dem

(61,025 posts)
5. Businesses don't want to pay to rebuild.
Thu Jan 16, 2025, 03:43 PM
9 hrs ago

They assume taxpayers will foot the bill.

And yes the costs will be astronomical.

LA fires will be seen as a drop in the bucket.

Firestorm49

(4,256 posts)
3. Despite their outward denial of climate change for decades, with no due respect intended,
Thu Jan 16, 2025, 03:20 PM
9 hrs ago

WTF were they thinking? We’re now suffering from ideological incompetence. Were they, perhaps, counting on prayers to make a planetary climate disaster disappear? Wouldn’t surprise me.

Buddyzbuddy

(172 posts)
6. My pet peeve, list the Fahrenheit. (Not on BumRush)
Thu Jan 16, 2025, 03:59 PM
8 hrs ago

I'm in my 60s. I don't have the conversion formula memorized, and I don't see a need at this time to change. Am I stupid? No, am I stuck in my old ways, sometimes. I know I'm not alone. I like Salon, but for goodness sake, would it kill them. Celsius means nothing to me, and I don't know what the appropriate amount of shock and angst I should feel. If they want the article to have an impact on the most number of people, include Fahrenheit.
That is all.

BumRushDaShow

(145,331 posts)
7. In this case
Thu Jan 16, 2025, 04:24 PM
8 hrs ago

there really isn't any "conversion" per se but just saying that the global average temp has risen 1 1/2 degrees above the average "pre-industrial" centigrade temps (which occurred just before the start of the 20th century for the years when they started keeping records in the mid-late 1800s through to that start of the 20th century in 1900).

https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-global-temperature

Global temps ~1850 - 1900 -

13.7°C (56.7°F)


The "1.5C degrees above" would come out to around "2.7F degrees above".

Buddyzbuddy

(172 posts)
8. Thank you BumRush.
Thu Jan 16, 2025, 06:06 PM
6 hrs ago

My critique was of the Salon article, not you. I spent more time writing the critique than it would have taken me to look it up. As I stated, it's just a pet peeve.
Happy posting, be well.

Latest Discussions»Latest Breaking News»Major oil ports are threa...