"...we differ only in the degree of threat we perceive..."

Priceless, I'm still laughing, congratulations.

Dear WmTrevor,

Thank you.

More to follow hopefully.

Hi Belly,

One 'lowest minimum' in today's paper, Perth in 2011, but no 'highest maximums' over the last twelve years. Very disappointing :(

Hi C.Steele,

Jayb's referred article explains much of the six-inches sea-level rise over the past century, it's a valuable read.

Okay, six inches in a century. As long as we can persuade governments to do nothing, and taking high-exponential growth into account, we may be on track for general sea-level rise of somewhere between six inches and three feet (sorry, I haven't caught up with metric yet) over the next century.

And presumably, IF governments do do something about it all, then sea-level rise might be anywhere between zero and what ? a foot ?

That's it ?

Since the last big Ice Age, 15,000 years ago, sea-levels have risen by 150 feet, a foot every century on average.

What can we do about sea-level rise, at least in those parts of the world where it is occurring ? Perhaps like the Dutch, wherever sea-level rise is occurring, governments could get stuck into very long-term dike-building ?

Still, as you might suggest, the role of academics and philosophers is not to change the world but to criticise it. But we can only keep doing that if nothing changes, if nobody else does anything. But as Jayb has pointed out, many of us here have made suggestions and many governments are starting to introduce counter-measures.

So we can either carefully monitor what may be working, and adjust and improve our measures, or we can get jobs in academia and sit back sit back and bitch about the evils of the capitalist-consumerist world, and hope that it all goes to Hell. The ball's in our court.

Cheers,

Joe

Joe,

"...or we can get jobs in academia and sit back and bitch about the evils of the capitalist-consumerist world, and hope it all goes to Hell..."

That's interesting - you are one of the loudest advocates for university education for indigenous people, as if it's the chute of liberation from entrenched ignorance. Now you criticise it as merely a vessel only suitable for those who would bitch and not act.

Btw, are you familiar with the term "tipping point"?

Dear Loudmouth,

So the scope and therefore one would assume the threat of sea level rises is three times your original assessment. Does that fact adjust any of your thinking? If not at what point would it?

I am a little curious as to your propensity to under quote figures. You claim Jayb's article is a “valuable read' but say “we may be on track for general sea-level rise of somewhere between six inches and three feet”.

Yet the article specifically refers to a “study published last year by the Oslo-based Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Project (AMAP) said sea levels would rise, on current melting trends, by 90 cms to 1.6 metres (3.0 to 5.3 feet) by 2100.”

Should we take heart from the fact the under quoting was only a factor of two on this occasion?

Hi Poirot,

Well, not every Indigenous graduate will become an academic, I hope, judging by the record of Indigenous academics so far. The best hope for graduates is to get out into the mainstream economy, preferably the private economy, and stay the hell away from academics.

Actually, the best thing that could happen to Indigenous academics is that they are told to get out and find jobs in the real world, helping their people instead of feathering their own nests, beavering away on meaningless 'Indigenous research' in between meaningless conferences.

Yes, 'tipping point', I think often about a coming tipping point in Indigenous graduate numbers, at which point somebody, even in the deep recesses of policy-making, will take note of the stats and exclaim 'Sh!t! This thing is a goer !' And more importantly, I think about that point where Indigenous graduates of all sorts really do start to make an impact on the Aboriginal community. I fervently hope that it can occur during this decade.

As well, I look for signs that there is a sort of 'tipping point' in Indigenous men's attitude to education, when they say amongst themselves 'Hey, the women are doing pretty well, we'd better get our @rses into gear to try to catch up with them.' Live in hope, I suppose.

Thanks for your concern, Poirot.

Cheers,

Joe