We can't stop global warming, some scientists say. Perhaps it's time to moveIt's something that wasn't even considered until recently -- the moving of species to areas where they don't normally live because of rapid climate change.
It's called "managed relocation" and according to a May 25 National Science Foundation press release, this concept is relatively new to science -- but it's not the only radical idea being bandied about as a response to a world that is warming quite quickly.
"Other such strategies include fertilizing the oceans to increase their absorption of greenhouse gases and thereby reduce climate change, conserving huge migratory corridors that may extend thousands of kilometers, and preserving the genetic diversity of threatened species in seed banks."
One of those species that will likely have to undergo a managed relocation is Homo sapien. A rising sea level is one of the many results of global warming. With a tenth of the world's population residing within six miles from a coastline, a crisis of submergence seems imminent.
Islands in the Bay of Bengal are disappearing as water levels rise from the melting of Himalayan glaciers.
Another effect of global warming is desertification, which has forced the Chinese government to relocate millions of eco-refugees as fertile lands transform into valleys of sand.
British climatologist James Lovelock has suggested that large islands like New Zealand will survive most of these effects, becoming global warming lifeboats that will become primary destinations for global warming refugees.
A recent search on Kayak.com for a one-way trip from New York's JFK Airport to Auckland International on May 6, 2010, found a ticket for $2815.50 on Japan Airlines.
Bon voyage.
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