Waterside Suicide
February 28th 2010 04:12
There was an earthquake in Chile over the past 24 hours, which led to the prediction of a tsunami hitting Australia's east coast. Matter of fact said prediction has been put forward for years now, with soothsayers expecting devaluing of property in coastal areas, and the general idea that a tsunami in the age of climate change and control will have more devastating effects than a simple non-taxpayer funded clean up of the ocean side boulevardes.
It is expected that a rise in sea levels will not be gradual, more like a wham-bam-thankyou-ma'am affair such as which travellers often expect when cruising into the beachside pub. People are expecting either a tidal wave that will wash away pieces of land for good, or a king tide of some permanence that will force many out of their sandy backyards.
I am not too sure what to expect, but when it comes to predictions of mass disasters, I am a naysayer. Slowly, slowly has forever been the way with which humans and our planet have come to adjust with change - and seeing that we've come this far, we should be able to handle a bit of a beat-down from the forever threatening desert force that is the ocean.
Still, the prediction of devalued waterside properties is not to be undermined.
For beachside villages and towns that are currently undervalued, there will reach a point in the near future when people realise they will probably stay that way. And for those that are over-priced, we can expect competition to continue blind-folded up to the point where, say, Greenland actually becomes green again.
One could still consider them as solid long term investments, for now, but in the end it will be The Life Aquatic for those of us who could never really let go of the Australian Dream.
Shall we call it Waterside Suicide, whereby one invests massively in an expensive beachside property market while maintaining the lifestyle of coal-burning, petrol guzzling and tree-felling like we have all come to know and love. If not love, then accept.
It is par for course to assume those expected to be affected the most by climate change will be the greatest advocates for climate control. Unfortunately, advocacy does not easliy trade-off as power.
So as us beach and harbourside dwellers ponder our existence, we might have to make the room for the small islands that will not survive the change of tide much longer. We trust that in later years those further above and further inland will do the same for us.
It is expected that a rise in sea levels will not be gradual, more like a wham-bam-thankyou-ma'am affair such as which travellers often expect when cruising into the beachside pub. People are expecting either a tidal wave that will wash away pieces of land for good, or a king tide of some permanence that will force many out of their sandy backyards.
I am not too sure what to expect, but when it comes to predictions of mass disasters, I am a naysayer. Slowly, slowly has forever been the way with which humans and our planet have come to adjust with change - and seeing that we've come this far, we should be able to handle a bit of a beat-down from the forever threatening desert force that is the ocean.
Still, the prediction of devalued waterside properties is not to be undermined.
For beachside villages and towns that are currently undervalued, there will reach a point in the near future when people realise they will probably stay that way. And for those that are over-priced, we can expect competition to continue blind-folded up to the point where, say, Greenland actually becomes green again.
One could still consider them as solid long term investments, for now, but in the end it will be The Life Aquatic for those of us who could never really let go of the Australian Dream.
Shall we call it Waterside Suicide, whereby one invests massively in an expensive beachside property market while maintaining the lifestyle of coal-burning, petrol guzzling and tree-felling like we have all come to know and love. If not love, then accept.
It is par for course to assume those expected to be affected the most by climate change will be the greatest advocates for climate control. Unfortunately, advocacy does not easliy trade-off as power.
So as us beach and harbourside dwellers ponder our existence, we might have to make the room for the small islands that will not survive the change of tide much longer. We trust that in later years those further above and further inland will do the same for us.
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