Posts Tagged "CDO"
floating thoughts on CDO tragedy, 2011 historic Asian flooding, and the world by 2050
sci-fi-ish (or not) artist rendition of Manhattan by 2050
By 2050 the world may see a real adaptation of the 1995 Kevin Costner movie Waterworld.
For people who are not fans of science fiction, let’s turn to science then. By 2050, the world may see more inundated areas, according to one UN unit, which forecast two billion people around the world to suffer from flood by 2050 (Asia being the worst hit), as reported by NASA Earth Observatory.
I also remember reading in a research paper that by 2050 some parts of the Earth, including some areas in Manila, will be submerged due to rising sea level (thanks to the global warming that melts the ice caps), frantic urbanization (no more agricultural lands to absorb water), deforestation (no more roots to hold water) and extreme weather conditions.
impact of flood
by the numbers
520+ million people affected per year worldwide
up to 25,000 annual deaths, extensive homelessness, disaster-induced disease, crop and livestock damage and other serious harm
400 million people flooded, every year, for the past 2 decades
93% of all flood-related deaths worldwide are in Asia (1987-1997) 44% of all flood disasters worldwide affected Asia, claiming 228,000 lives
~NASA’s earth observatory report
If you’re not a fan of science, then history, current events, and some common sense would show you that floods can be our worst nightmare now or in the future: Thailand just went through the worst flooding it experienced in 50 years, halting global operations because many international automobile and IT manufacturers based in Thailand were either flooded or workers were stuck in flooded communities; neighboring Cambodia and Vietnam lost lives and thousands of tons of crops to the floods caused by uninterrupted precipitation months ago; the Philippines was in world news when typhoon Ondoy devastated Manila. Even progressive Singapore had its share of floods months ago when continuous rains caused water flowing into some malls and establishments.
For a few months, I was just following these reports for my work, and once in a while, some apocalyptic thoughts would float on my head as I edit reports on one flooded Asian country after another. Then another devastating flood struck once more. It’s the Philippines again.
Read Morefor the love of traveling (cdo in images)
bound to Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental (feb 4)
Read MoreWho, Me?
Hello there! My name is Ai, Japanese for "love." I couldn't stay in one place for too long, so I'm always walking, traveling or changing address. I write for Australia's Campus Review, Education Review, Insite health care, and other magazines under APN. Before this, I was an editor of a quarterly rice science magazine and a weekly publication on international commodity trade in Singapore. But before everything else, I was an educator for five years.
