David Archer, "renowned computational ocean chemist and current professor at the University of Chicago", has given a lecture at the University of Connecticut. "Audience members seemed to enjoy Archer’s presentation and lecture, and felt comfortable asking questions", reports the The Daily Campus.
Perhaps they found professor Archer's closing words particularly enjoyable:
Archer closed his lecture with a series of projections about climate change in the near future, concentrating on sea level rises. Archer illustrated the concept by saying that by 2300, sea level will have risen 50 meters and that 3.5 percent of Earth’s surface will be submerged, displacing approximately 10 percent of the world’s population. Archer also emphasized the role of Americans in this destruction, stating that for every gallon of gas Americans burn, 50 square centimeters of land is lost and that every American essentially “burns away” 1,000 square feet of land each year.
Isn't it amazing what "computational chemists" are able to compute! A rise of 50 meters in 2300! No doubt Archer's taxpayer financed computers give exactly this figure, if they are programmed to do so. But the professor should also have told the audience how many square meters of land was "lost" when he to took a high carbon footprint flight from Chicago to Connecticut, and back.
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