Monday, October 22, 2007

643 million people live in low-lying areas

What Will Mark The Beginning of The End Of Global Trade? - Climate Change.
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 10.22.07

Few of us have thought much about the trade implications of climate change-induced coastal flooding. World Watch has clarified it for us. Flooded ports: all done. That's why they're called World Watch. Good stuff.

Cities around the world are facing the danger of rising seas and other disasters related to climate change. Of the 33 cities predicted to have at least 8 million people by 2015, at least 21 are highly vulnerable, says the Worldwatch Institute. They include Dhaka, Bangladesh; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Shanghai and Tianjin in China; Alexandria and Cairo in Egypt; Mumbai and Kolkata in India; Jakarta, Indonesia; Tokyo and Osaka-Kobe in Japan; Lagos, Nigeria; Karachi, Pakistan; Bangkok, Thailand, and New York and Los Angeles in the United States, according to studies by the United Nations and others.

More than one-tenth of the world's population, or 643 million people, live in low-lying areas at risk from climate change, say U.S. and European experts.

Just as an aside: how long before some cable talk show pundit equates coastal flooding with religious prophecy? We can wait.

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