There is Too Much Water in the Oceans
~ a proposal to reduce rising sea levels ~
Over the next few centuries low-lying countries, cities and natural habitat will be lost to the oceans as coastlines are redefined by rising sea level. The purpose of this web site is to promote ideas for transporting excess river water from water-rich continents to arid continents on a massive scale for several hundred years. By reducing the amount of water returned to the oceans the rise of the sea levels is reduced.
By using diverted water to create new green agricultural zones we increase the amount of CO2 stored in plants and simultaneously remove CO2 from the atmosphere. This by itself may be a (small) factor in slowing the pace of global warming and rising sea levels. The freshwater can also be used to replenish aquifers and depleted lakes and restore these natural artifacts that man has destroyed over time. The costs for this massive water diversion are enormous but they are dwarfed by the benefits. It is impossible to construct a complete cost analysis of massively moving freshwater between continents but I feel it is far cheaper than increasing dikes and beaches to keep the water out. Economically, the costs are easily justified by preventing the loss of many cities and the associated expenses of moving hundreds of millions of people to dryer areas. The environmental impact of transporting massive amounts of water from one part of the world to another will be substantial, but again, less detrimental than building countless additional sea barriers worldwide or moving hundreds of millions of people.
Scientists belief that global warming is the cause of the rise in the sea levels. My proposal does not address the causes of global warming but rather deals with one specific effect, albeit one that will affect billions of people in the centuries to come. This proposal is not a substitute for reducing the output of CO2 and other green house gases nor is it a reason to reduce pollution control and energy conservation efforts. My proposal can be combined simultaneously with all other efforts to reduce global warming and limit its effects.