Image credit: Google Maps
Who says scientists don’t have a sense of humor? Dr Sjoerd Groeskamp, an oceanographer at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, and Joakim Kjellson at GEOMAR in Kiel, Germany surely must have had a mischievous smile on their faces when they submitted their latest idea to the Bulletin of the American Meterological Society recently.Their idea? Build two dams across the North Sea — one 475 kilometers long from the north of Scotland to the west coast of Norway, and another one 160 kilometers long across the English Channel from southwest England to Brest on the western tip of France. Why would anyone do such a thing? To protect 25 million people from higher sea levels, which are projected to rise by as much as 10 meters (33 feet) by the year 2500, according to some estimates.
‘The construction of such a North-European Enclosure Dam seems to be technically feasible,” Groeskamp maintains, according to Science Daily. ‘The maximum depth of the North Sea between France and England is scarcely one hundred meters. The average depth between Scotland and Norway is 127 meters, with a maximum of 321 meters just off the coast of Norway. We are currently able to build fixed platforms in depths exceeding 500 meters, so such a dam seems feasible too.”
How Much Would That Cost?
The pair of scientists estimates building the two dams would cost between 250 and 500 million euros, which is a very affordable 0.1% of the gross national product every year for 20 years of all the countries that would be protected by the dams.
Related Books
Climate Adaptation Finance and Investment in California
by Jesse M. Keenan
This book serves as a guide for local governments and private enterprises as they navigate the unchartered waters of investing in climate change adaptation and resilience. This book serves not only as a resource guide for identifying potential funding sources but also as a roadmap for asset management and public finance processes. It highlights practical synergies between funding mechanisms, as well as the conflicts that may arise between varying interests and strategies. While the main focus of this work is on the State of California, this book offers broader insights for how states, local governments and private enterprises can take those critical first steps in investing in society’s collective adaptation to climate change. Available On Amazon
Nature-Based Solutions to Climate Change Adaptation in Urban Areas: Linkages between Science, Policy and Practice
by Nadja Kabisch, Horst Korn, Jutta Stadler, Aletta Bonn
This open access book brings together research findings and experiences from science, policy and practice to highlight and debate the importance of nature-based solutions to climate change adaptation in urban areas. Emphasis is given to the potential of nature-based approaches to create multiple-benefits for society.
The expert contributions present recommendations for creating synergies between ongoing policy processes, scientific programmes and practical implementation of climate change and nature conservation measures in global urban areas. Available On Amazon
A Critical Approach to Climate Change Adaptation: Discourses, Policies and Practices
by Silja Klepp, Libertad Chavez-Rodriguez
This edited volume brings together critical research on climate change adaptation discourses, policies, and practices from a multi-disciplinary perspective. Drawing on examples from countries including Colombia, Mexico, Canada, Germany, Russia, Tanzania, Indonesia, and the Pacific Islands, the chapters describe how adaptation measures are interpreted, transformed, and implemented at grassroots level and how these measures are changing or interfering with power relations, legal pluralismm and local (ecological) knowledge. As a whole, the book challenges established perspectives of climate change adaptation by taking into account issues of cultural diversity, environmental justicem and human rights, as well as feminist or intersectional approaches. This innovative approach allows for analyses of the new configurations of knowledge and power that are evolving in the name of climate change adaptation. Available On Amazon
From The Publisher:
Purchases on Amazon go to defray the cost of bringing you InnerSelf.comelf.com, MightyNatural.com, and ClimateImpactNews.com at no cost and without advertisers that track your browsing habits. Even if you click on a link but don't buy these selected products, anything else you buy in that same visit on Amazon pays us a small commission. There is no additional cost to you, so please contribute to the effort. You can also use this link to use to Amazon at any time so you can help support our efforts.
