The Low Carbon Economy Ltd

09 Feb 2011 11:02:03

Report warns of climate change impact on infrastructure

Climate change could cripple UK infrastructure in the future if action is not taken to mitigate its effects, a new report has warned.

Engineering the Future was presented to the government's chief scientific advisor this week and states, unless measures are taken to protect infrastructure, climate change "could have seriously detrimental effects on UK society and the economy".

Lord Browne of Madingley, president of the Royal College of Engineering, which compiled the report, said: "Climate change is a genuine risk. While efforts must continue towards mitigating its effects, we need to think very carefully about how we adapt to the changing climatic conditions that are anticipated over the coming century."

He added that engineering "is one of the best chances we have" of dealing with issues such as rising sea levels.

Last year, the Met Office dramatically revised its worst case scenario for rising sea levels, more than halving its prediction to 6ft from 13ft.

The report noted the vulnerabilities in energy, transport, communications and water infrastructure, warning of a possible "cascade effect", where the failure of one system impacts on another, causing serious damage to the economy. ADNFCR-1235-ID-800394014-ADNFCR

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IntegralPlanet wrote:

15 Feb 2011

The Met Office needs to cut it again - to 1 foot in a century. The science of climate is incomplete because it does not take the effects of the solar system and the sun into account. There appears to be a 60 year cycle of slightly rising and slightly falling temperatures which can be clearly seen in the temperature records. This cycle does not feature in the climate change models - yet. But if the FAO which has studied the pattern of fish productivity over hundreds of years can see a clear rise and fall in fish populations - so regular that they are using it to guide the fishing industry with firm predictions - then something is missing from the CO2-dominated radiative model now being used to make cataclysmic predictions. If the 60 year cycle is true, a cooling of the world will take place over the next two decades. Ergo, the Met Office needs to get in touch with FAO to learn some more climate science and with scientists who are studying the cycles such as Nicola Scafetta. Our planet is not in a bubble sealed off from the cosmos!

IntegralPlanet wrote:

15 Feb 2011

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