Western Antarctic ice sheet collapse has already begun, scientists warn

[doodab]

sea defences should be built and maintained anyway as there is a quantifiable return on investment

But you need to decide how much to build and where, and for that you need to look to the best available predictions, just the same as anything else where you're dealing with time induced uncertainity. There isn't room to be 100% sure until after the fact and then it's too late.

[Mich the Tester]

But you need to decide how much to build and where, and for that you need to look to the best available predictions, just the same as anything else where you're dealing with time induced uncertainity. There isn't room to be 100% sure until after the fact and then it's too late.

Nonsense, just hire in some Poles and get them to build a 100 ft high wall all the way around the British coast. It´ll keep the immigrants out too!

[doodab]

Nonsense, just hire in some Poles and get them to build a 100 ft high wall all the way around the British coast. It´ll keep the immigrants out too!

That or we'll get a gold medal in pole vaulting in the next Olympics.

[original PM]

the dutch seem to have a pretty good record of keeping land which is below sea level erm above sea level if you know what I mean.

Maybe we could learn something?

[doodab]

the dutch seem to have a pretty good record of keeping land which is below sea level erm above sea level if you know what I mean.

Maybe we could learn something?

Yes. Spend ****loads and get it right.

BBC News - 1953 flood: How UK defences compare with the Netherlands

The total spend on defences on the east coast in Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex was £250m in 10 years.

In the Netherlands, 0.1% of the entire gross domestic product - between 500 and 600m euros (£420m to £513m) - is spent on a network of sluices, locks and barriers.

The job of improving those defences - by making them bigger, using newer technology, widening rivers and building floating homes - is ongoing

0.1% of UK GDP works out as about £1.4 billion. That's quite a bit more than we actually spend.

[original PM]

0.1% of UK GDP works out as about £1.4 billion. That's quite a bit more than we actually spend.

Yes but in the grand scheme of things it is not a lot and surely cheaper than having to clean up the mess each year?

[hyperD]

Do you have proof that this will change anything?

Yes, you'll need to recruit a whole load of northern Korean contractors just for you and your wife to afford to eat a tin of beans for a day!

[Mich the Tester]

the dutch seem to have a pretty good record of keeping land which is below sea level erm above sea level if you know what I mean.

Maybe we could learn something?

Yes, in fact the Dutch are so good at keeping the underwater places above water that nowadays most of the flooding happens in Limburg, which is above sea level.

[VectraMan]

0.1% of UK GDP works out as about £1.4 billion. That's quite a bit more than we actually spend.

NL isn't really a fair comparison as by rights half the country should be underwater, whereas we only have small bits (like the Somerset Levels) below sea-level. Plus we're surrounded on all sides by coast.

I wonder how UK spending compares to France, Spain, Italy, The US perhaps? I bet it's not that dissimilar in how seriously we take the threat.

[original PM]

NL isn't really a fair comparison as by rights half the country should be underwater, whereas we only have small bits (like the Somerset Levels) below sea-level. Plus we're surrounded on all sides by coast.

I wonder how UK spending compares to France, Spain, Italy, The US perhaps? I bet it's not that dissimilar in how seriously we take the threat.

Isn't New Orleans still flooded from the last hurricane??

Spain and Italy are mainly in the med which is very untidal

France would be an interesting one - but I think the main thing is that they leave there mudflats/marshlands/floodplains as places to grow shellfish etc and not to build housing estates.

As side from coastal flooding though we have far too many rivers flooding or maybe we just have far to many housing estates built on flood plains!