Schaper: Rhode Island the Next Atlantis?

Arthur Christopher Schaper

In two of Plato’s dialogues, the Timeus and The Critias, the main interlocutor Socrates describes the fate of a mythical nation, Atlantis, which sank into the sea. This legend captivated the minds of ancient intellects and authorities. Today, US Senator Whitehouse is busy retelling this tale, yet transposing the country from the possibly underwater Atlantis to his home state, Rhode Island. After eighty-three speeches on climate change, Senator Whitehouse is convinced that the Ocean State will become part of the ocean if the federal government does not take swift, comprehensive action to combat climate change:

Like he did 82 times before, Sheldon Whitehouse stood on the Senate floor and preached the dangers of climate change.

In two of Plato’s dialogues, the Timeus and The Critias, the main interlocutor Socrates describes the fate of a mythical nation, Atlantis, which sank into the sea. This legend captivated the minds of ancient intellects and authorities. Today, US Senator Whitehouse is busy retelling this tale, yet transposing the country from the possibly underwater Atlantis to his home state, Rhode Island. After eighty-three speeches on climate change, Senator Whitehouse is convinced that the Ocean State will become part of the ocean if the federal government does not take swift, comprehensive action to combat climate change:

Like he did 82 times before, Sheldon Whitehouse stood on the Senate floor and preached the dangers of climate change.

“Preached” is the word, since climate change alarmism has become an article of fact for US Senate liberals, divorced from truth or evidence. One has this sinking feeling that the junior senator is protesting about an issue of no merit.

Climate change proponents will cite Politifact Rhode Island, which rated the following statement true:

“If sea levels rise six feet due to climate change, Waterplace Park in Providence and Wickford village would be swamped”  — Grover Fugate on Friday, August 23rd, 2013 in a TV interview

The key word is “If”. Fugate responded to the politicized report from the United Nations, and concluded that if projections are accurate, Waterplace Park would have water all over the place. Block Island would disappear. Maybe Newport and Providence would turn into deep-sea resorts, too.

Once again, that word “if” stands out. These suppositions are based on possibilities, not assertions, theories, not evidence. Like many liberal climate change apologists, these spokesmen throw around the names of major universities, academics.

Also throughout the Politifact review: would, could, might. If the ocean is rising, if the waters levels well up, then certain sections of the state will be underwater, and the coastline will grow into the state. Once again, is there any evidence that the ocean levels have actually risen? If they have, is there any evidence to affirm that human activity and consumption is causing this purported rise?

Remember: men of brilliance and renown in Renaissance times gave credence to the myths of a sunken civilization. They also believed that savage men with heads in their chests populated the Americas. Illiterate sailors gave true accounts, regardless of the authority of scribes and religious authorities.

Facts, not figures, determine the truth. There is nothing wrong with a healthy skepticism of “the experts”. During the Renaissance era, the tyranny of religious and academic authorities attempted to silence Galileo Galilei following his research affirming Copernicus’ helio-centric structure of the universe. Local leaders, readers, and scientists are debunking climate alarmism with more evidence, despite shame and threats from the university intelligentsia.

What about this interactive map of Rhode Island? Webpage visitors can adjust the possible water level, and then read about the number of people, homes, or roads which will be impacted by those potential floods. Once again, conjecture reigns supreme in this interactive website. Kids can play with the potential ocean levels. Look at Warwick sink, followed by Providence, and then Newport! You can see how deep one of the two Congressional districts will disappear, too. This site is more of a game than a presentation of results. Fun, but not factual, nor even faithful to any sentiment of good science based on hypotheses, observations, and conclusions.

The National Ocean Service did offer the following statements in a post: “Sea level is rising at an increasing rate”:

The two major causes of global sea-level rise are thermal expansion caused by the warming of the oceans (since water expands as it warms) and the loss of land-based ice (such as glaciers and polar ice caps) due to increased melting.

Records and research show that sea level has been steadily rising at a rate of 0.04 to 0.1 inches per year since 1900.

The ocean level did increase by 0.12 inches over the last century. Scared yet? Not me.  Furthermore, I am skeptical of scientific research from government agencies. Notice the “climate.gov” on the right side of the webpage. I clicked on the links highlighting the inching up of the ocean. Nothing. The dead links lead to nothing living or convincing.

About those glaciers and polar ice caps, scientists and basic observation records that ice levels are rising on mountains all over the world, including India and the United States. Even tropical Hawaii had an unprecedented snow fall, as early as October of last year. If any island sinks, could it be Hawaii under layers of snow?

Other websites gather data, including historical evidence as well as current, reliable research. On this site, readers can learn that ancient ports now stand miles inland from national coastlines. What happened? The ocean levels receded. The ebb and flow of sea levels is more erratic, and less consequential, than climate change alarmists contend.

Like Atlantis, the saga of ozone depletion/global warming/climate change is just a myth. It would be entertaining if not for the fearful consequence of Big Government takeovers and noxious policies advanced by politicians like Senator Whitehouse. 

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