Energy secretary: Islands could disappear

(AP) -- U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu is warning that if countries don't do something about climate change, "some island states will simply disappear."

The energy secretary is traveling with President Barack Obama to the two-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago for a summit of the Western Hemisphere's democracies. Chu told reporters at the Summit of the Americas on Saturday that Obama pushed leaders to work to stem rising temperatures.

Chu said that rising temperatures lead to more damaging hurricanes and rising oceans. He said those results are scary.

Chu also said Obama encouraged fellow leaders to consider energy efficiency to help fight climate change. Obama pointed to refrigerators, which are now larger and four-times more efficient than they were in 1975.

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• dachpyarvile - Apr 19, 2009
  • Rank: 3 / 5 (6)
  Chu is an idiot. His credentials seem to say otherwise but his actions show what he really is: a puppet of AlGo. A two inch rise in sea levels by 2100 will not erase island states. This is just environentalist hype.
  
  In addition, hurricanes form and gain more destructive force when there is more cold air to interact with the warmer air. Warm the air up more evenly and the storm intensity actually decreases because there is less colder air with which the warmer air can interact.
  
  People need to study weather records over the last two centuries very carefully. It will show that storm intensity increased during times of cold over that of times of warmer weather. Check it out for yourselves...
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• LuckyBrandon - Apr 19, 2009
  • Rank: 3 / 5 (5)
  Don't know where you got 2 inch sea level raise from...but the projection for the end of the century is feet, not inches...providing emissions cuts aren't met. In fact, I had read a research paper a few days back saying htat even with the emissions cuts, the ice will continue to collapse anyways.
  I do agree with you in the aspect that this is primarily a natural thing, however, even a 3 foot rise in sea water could be detrimental to islands...that is what they are addressing, feet of elevation of the oceans, not inches...youre absolutely right though, 2 inches wouldnt do shite...
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• dachpyarvile - Apr 19, 2009
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  The ~2-inch estimate comes from conservative IPCC data whereas the "feet" estimate comes from Gorian and Hansonite exaggerations of the ipcc data. Fact is, there will not be a complete collapse of Antarctica's ice sheets by 2100. Such a claim is pure propaganda.
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• LuckyBrandon - Apr 19, 2009
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  Gotcha
  
  Thanks for the follow up dachpyarvile :D
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• arcticireland - Apr 20, 2009
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  The farcical antics of the Catlin Arctic ice Survey and the obscure results so far show that we can't rely on data provided by researchers who depend on patronage to conduct their work
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• arcticireland - Apr 20, 2009
  • Rank: 5 / 5 (4)
  BTW Spencer and Woodworth (1993),show ,based on real data from tide guages etc,that Mean Sea Level has been rising at 1-3mm/year over the last 2oo years.So we seem to be looking at perhaps a c25 cm rise by 2100 or very roughly 1 foot ? I also believe that many of the areas supposedly threatened are actually sinkingto add the the prolems for the folks living there
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