NC Sea Rise Doom: A Lesson In A Warmist Narrative

by William Teach | January 2, 2015 7:42 am

When Conservatives talk about media bias, we note that one of the methods is to simply leave relevant information out of articles. They attempt to create a narrative, and since people will often only read that article, they may fail to know about said relevant information. Here’s WRAL

Sea level report shows increasing pace of change along coast[1]

A report released on Dec. 31 shows the climate is changing along the North Carolina coast, and the sea level is rising faster in some areas than in others. (snip)

If sea levels continue to rise at their current rate, scientists predict the ocean could be nearly 5 1/2 inches higher on the northern Outer Banks in 30 years, and 2 1/2 inches around Wilmington.

But the report endorses the theory that climate change will hasten the rates of rising sea levels. It predicts a boost of just over a foot at Duck, on the northern coast, and four inches at Southport, near Wilmington, by 2045.

So, there you have it, “climate change” is too blame, right? And will make it worse. Something seems to be missing. Here’s the Raleigh News and Observer

30-year sea-level rise will vary along NC coast, scientists say[2]

A new scientific report warns that the sea is rising at widely varying rates along the North Carolina shore – ranging by 2045 from a possible low of 4 inches at Southport to as much as 12.1 inches on the northern Outer Banks. (snip)

North Carolina becomes the first state with a comprehensive forecast that shows the sea rising at different rates along its coast. Scientists have known for years about big differences – shaped by forces in the ocean and deep in the earth – between the northern Outer Banks and North Carolina’s southern shoreline.

Tide gauges show that the ocean has risen faster in recent decades at Duck, north of Nags Head (about 4.5 millimeters per year) than farther south at Wilmington and Southport (about 2 mm per year – close to the average annual global rate of 1.7 mm).

The northern Outer Banks are sinking slowly. This corner of the state lies in a part of the North American continent that is subsiding in response to geological forces dating from the last Ice Age, about 200 centuries ago.

In addition, oceanographers have spotted a link between fluctuations in the Gulf Stream – its strength and position offshore – and different rates of flooding and sea-level rise along the U.S. coast. This great ocean current is weakening and slowing down, and scientists say the change is pushing the seas higher along the mid-Atlantic coast north of Cape Hatteras.

The article itself, further down, still pushes the “climate change” narrative a bit, but at least it mentions natural geological forces, a major component of the report, which is completely missing from the WRAL article. Back to WRAL

“We have a history of change,” (Dr. Stan) Riggs said. “We better realize those piles of sand are moving.”

Why are the Outer Banks moving? That’s not mentioned, either. Barrier islands will always see lots of change from natural forces. The Outer Banks have gone through great changes[3]. Inlets are created, moved, and destroyed by nature. Vegetation can do wild things to the land, particularly in limiting erosion and shifting (yes, some of the vegetation can be pointed at mankind’s intervention).

I won’t get into the whole debate about mostly/solely natural vs. mostly/solely anthropogenic causation, that’s a debate that we’ve had and will continue to have (though Warmists refuse to modify their own behavior to match their beliefs). What we have above is media bias and an attempt to create a narrative friendly to Leftist beliefs.

It should be noted that this is the draft report, so, lots more money will be spent putting it through peer review, revision, and public comment over the next year and a half, all to tell us that changes occur along the coastline.

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove[4]. Follow me on Twitter @WilliamTeach[5].