Reply #117: Don't forget the Northwest Passage ...

[chicagiana]

The Ice-Sheets in Greenland are melting at an alarming rate. AND, the Northwest Passage has opened up for many months of the year.

Some scientists expect that the Northwest Passage could be open for year round traffic year round within decades.

The GREAT threat here is that the Gulf Stream will shut down. If that happens, it will cancel out the relatively mild climates of the US/Canadian NE and England (comparitive to their latitudes). Those regions could go into an ice age.

At the same, the areas at the equator will get a LOT hotter since the heat will be trapped there.


A rising ocean isn't such a huge deal. We have whole countries that live behind sea walls. New Orleans is behind a sea wall. Yes, it IS a bad thing, but it can be dealt with. Shutting down the Gulf Stream ... that CANNOT be dealt with. It would likely end the nation of Iceland and turn England into a snowball.