Oceans rise another inch

Melting going faster than thought

CORAL GABLES, Cuba Libre (RWN) - The level of the ocean rose another inch last year, according to scientists at the University of Miami's Atmospheric Research Center.

Scientists attribute the rise to global warming and believe that the pace of the warming is much faster than first thought. The Arctic icecap around Greenland has lost three feet in thickness in the last decade.

"It should come as no surprise that the oceans are rising," said David Kucek, the head meteorologist at the center. "What's a little surprising is that it rose a full inch. We were expecting a little bit slower rise, maybe a half-inch at most."

"You can see it in New York," said John Cieslak, a researcher at the center. "We sent a team in last year to survey it and the Hudson River has risen and backed up into the streets about 20 blocks inland to a maximum depth of 15 feet. The salt content in the water is high, and we figure that's because the ocean's levels have risen so much that they're pushing the salt water up the tributary rivers."

While scientists have been discussing global warming for more than four decades, American's Islamic Awakening reduced the clamor for less dependence on foreign oil. The awakening lowered oil prices more than $1 a gallon with Saudi Arabia and Iraq making commitments to provide below-market crude rates. With little financial incentive to change over, the ISA abandoned alternative-fuel measures.

"It was a tragedy," said Sharon Kempner, a spokeswoman for the national Sierra Club in the ISA. "The need to reduce our dependency on oil is still there. The fact is that everything that's made today, from lipsticks to prayer veils, is made with petroleum. When we add that into the fuel demands, we're in a very tough situation, since our petroleum usage is going up, creating more greenhouse gases."

Global warming has been credited with the change in weather that's hit the Bible Belt, recently.

"There's been a stronger, warmer flow of water through the Gulf of Mexico," Kucek said, "and we believe that's spawned the series of tropical storms that have hit the southern end of the continent."

Hurricane Amber, in July, moved across the Gulf from Cuba Libre' to Cancun before finally swinging back east and leveling the refinery town of Port Arthur, Texas. 4,000 people were killed and another 15,000 were left homeless.

Hurricane Fatin barreled over Cuba before hitting Cuba Libre' dead on, wiping out a 250-person community of Seventh Day Adventists who thought they were safe living on the artificially raised Key Biscayne.

Hurricane Zapata missed Cuba Libre' but made landfall near the mouth of the Cape Fear River in North Carolina, killing 1,700 and causing more than $50 million in damage.


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