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in reply to Re: The worst case scenario
in thread The worst case scenario

When it comes to melting ice and changes in sea-level, floating ice doesn't matter at all. When it melts it will take up exactly the same space as the water it displaced by floating.

The thing we have to worry about is ice that lives on land, like the Greenland ice sheet.

Oh, and about your moon-sized-rock: we already track everything bigger than a few kilometers. So, sure it might kill us, but we'll have a hundred years or so to think about it.

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Re^3: The worst case scenario
by ww (Archbishop) on May 19, 2006 at 17:59 UTC
      "...we already track everything bigger than a few kilometers.

    True! Kachin... ^H^H^H
    BRAAAATTTTT
    .oO ...oops, not quick enough to correct /me.

    <error horn vibrations ebb>...

    Well, actually, only for those cases of "everything" where "everything" includes only the set whose membership is coterminus with the set "those that we happen to know about."

    ...and each year, astronomers, amateur and career, discover (some .. several) new and previously unknown "rocks" whose orbits CROSS that of the earth. I believe this year's count of such new discoveries, for rocks with radius > 5 km. is already on the order of 3.

Re^3: The worst case scenario
by swampyankee (Parson) on May 19, 2006 at 17:46 UTC
    Oh, and about your moon-sized-rock: we already track everything bigger than a few kilometers. So, sure it might kill us, but we'll have a hundred years or so to think about it.

    And a few decades to think about being hit by a rock bigger the size of the Moon will make me feel better how?

    Sings "Anticipation...anticipa-a-ation..." while searching for his Carly Simon CD's

    emc

    "Being forced to write comments actually improves code, because it is easier to fix a crock than to explain it. "
    —G. Steele
      I see you shiver, with antici...

      say it, say it!

      ... pation.

      Sorry, we all have our anticipation references

Re^3: The worst case scenario
by spiritway (Vicar) on May 23, 2006 at 03:00 UTC

    Somehow, this isn't altogether comforting. Even a fairly small rock, 1 or 2 km. in diameter, could ruin your whole day. At that size, huge clouds of dust would be spewed up, probably causing seriously cold weather for a few years. Also, it would adversely affect any city it landed on by annihilating it. Depending on which city it was, this might be considered a bad thing.