US Dollar strength compared to other currencies from the top economies of the world.
Comparison of Conversion rate against the US Dollar against the US Dollar seen at the beginning of 2014 for the currencies of the top 25 economies of the world
(c) Glenn Doty 2015
In response to your very good climate change information, wondering how accurate is the prognosis that coastland will be inundated by glacier melt excess water.
Hey Don.
Just to let you know, it would be easier – in the future, when we’ve had multiple posts and the number of comments increases substantially (seems to be around one comment for every 200 visits, for now… but both the ratio and the number of visitors are increasing) – if you left a comment at the bottom of the article that you’re talking about. It’s no problem at all now – we’re still small enough that it’s easy to find you… but that might not be true in a few months.
http://thecenterhold.com/the-arctic-ice-pack-is-disappearing/
To answer you question. The coastline is being inundated even now – as it were. It’s just happening very slowly. Between the melt-off of alpine ice, the melt-off of the Greenland Ice Sheet, the increased ice flow of Antarctica (Ice does flow on this scale – by the trillions of tons), and the gradual expansion of the water volume due to thermal expansion… the ocean levels are currently increasing ~3-4 mm per year.
Once the arctic ice cap melts off completely than the arctic basin will be absorbing enough energy to melt off several mm worth of ocean level rise EVERY DAY, but there will only be a few days of warming – initially.
Of course, atmospheric temperatures are also rising – and quickly (The permanent research facility in Antarctica recorded a record-smashing temperature of ~18 C (~65 F) the other day. It’s entirely possible that we could be seeing ocean levels rising ~1 inch/year by ~2030, and the rate of rise will continue to accelerate – perhaps as much as ~2 inches per year by ~2070.
There’s enough water in the ice sheets that the ocean levels could rise as much as ~60 meters if they all melt off, but that will take more than a thousand years.
Still, an inch a year is a very, VERY big deal, and that’s approaching within our lifetime. Salt marshes will spread, and low-lying regions (like Florida and Louisiana) will see the ground gradually growing softer… Tides will rise higher, and storm surges will rapidly become more destructive… etc…
It’s a big planet, so the changes are slow… but yes, we will see the coastlines inundated as the ice melts… Given sufficient time.
Enjoyed the opinion. We just refinanced the house at 3.5% for 15 years and the lawyer said we would never se this rate again.
Hi Don!
Thanks for chiming in. I hope that you’ve done your part to share it out there for us… We’re very new, and we need word of mouth to push us out there, but I think the basic mission here is important. We need to have a place where we can remember how to converse with one another on topics where we disagree.
(That’s actually why I started with the Fed, it’s far less polarizing than virtually any other political topic).
I do believe that rates will rise – and rather quickly – once the labor market truly tightens. That will begin within a year or so and will continue for at least 15 years, and that will be fine. But forcing rates higher now would be forcing the rates further away from where the market wants to set them – which is probably around negative 10 basis points (-0.10%)…. and that will cause considerable harm, so I doubt rates will budge within the next few months.
Ergo, your lawyer was correct, he’s just pronouncing fait accompli a little prematurely.
I wanted to add that I’m really glad to have you joining us. I’ve enjoyed reading several posts of yours that Rochelle has drawn my attention to, and I think you’ll have a lot to add – especially when the posts concern social issues.
🙂