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We need a quick fix. I'm based in the Netherlands, two thirds of which is threatened by a sea level rise within the next hundred years. If that sounds far away

We need a quick fix. I'm based in the Netherlands, two thirds of which is threatened by a sea level rise within the next hundred years. If that sounds far away to you: my grandmother died at age 99. There's a very reasonable chance my children, teenagers right now, will live through this.

natch 4y ago
Yes I expect unfortunately Netherlands real estate prices will be crashing hard very soon. People who like looking ahead when investing should be thinking the same about all coastal and low lying regions. Resale value will be nil. By the time a 30 year mortgage is over, the next buyer will be looking to the end of their own 30 year mortgage, and what they see won’t look good. So there will be no buyers. People don’t want to leave worthless property to their children, so the smart people who foresee this chain of events will get out now.
- rdevsrex 4y ago
  Ok, for that to be true, what degree of warming will cause the sea to rise more than mitigations can be put in place? If we keep warming to 3 degrees, do you think the sea works will not be enough?
  - ncmncm 4y ago
    It won't matter, because civilization will collapse when ocean ecosystem does, before then. Collapsing civilization is bad for property values. And for the concept of property as such.
  - natch 4y ago
    It seems likely the sea rise will be a multi-century, unrelenting, ongoing event of rise upon rise that will not stop at the levels envisaged by anyone planning any mitigations. So, no. There is a reason scientists are concerned. On the positive side for the Netherlands, their expertise will be coveted worldwide as hapless nations futilely seek to forestall the inevitable stage by stage.
ncmncm 4y ago
There is no "quick fix". Attempting any sort of "quick fix" guarantees quicker failure. Civilization collapsing would anyway slow CO2 rise, but at substantial... cost. Probably mass extinction would happen either way.

natch 4y ago

Yes I expect unfortunately Netherlands real estate prices will be crashing hard very soon. People who like looking ahead when investing should be thinking the same about all coastal and low lying regions. Resale value will be nil. By the time a 30 year mortgage is over, the next buyer will be looking to the end of their own 30 year mortgage, and what they see won’t look good. So there will be no buyers. People don’t want to leave worthless property to their children, so the smart people who foresee this chain of events will get out now.

rdevsrex 4y ago
Ok, for that to be true, what degree of warming will cause the sea to rise more than mitigations can be put in place? If we keep warming to 3 degrees, do you think the sea works will not be enough?
- ncmncm 4y ago
  It won't matter, because civilization will collapse when ocean ecosystem does, before then. Collapsing civilization is bad for property values. And for the concept of property as such.
- natch 4y ago
  It seems likely the sea rise will be a multi-century, unrelenting, ongoing event of rise upon rise that will not stop at the levels envisaged by anyone planning any mitigations. So, no. There is a reason scientists are concerned. On the positive side for the Netherlands, their expertise will be coveted worldwide as hapless nations futilely seek to forestall the inevitable stage by stage.

ncmncm 4y ago

There is no "quick fix". Attempting any sort of "quick fix" guarantees quicker failure. Civilization collapsing would anyway slow CO2 rise, but at substantial... cost. Probably mass extinction would happen either way.