May 01, 2007

HousingPANIC Stupid Question of the Day


This April was the warmest ever recorded (that's 350 years of record keeping) in England, and the past 12 months were 3.7 degrees (F) warmer than any other 12 month stretch.

Yup, we'll be underwater soon here in Europe. Get to Venice and Amsterdam while you still can.. And I'd imagine Florida real estate is looking a bit risky(er) too

So my question is... What impact will global warming have on housing?

49 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well let's see...

The Mayan calendar runs out on Dec. 21, 2012. The line of named Popes ends soon. There's a comet out there heading to Earth. The fifth Imam is coming to make Iran a super power. The Jews have to be destroyed to bring about The End of Days. A polar shift dating from 1998 is causing the Earth to wobble.

The schedule just doesn't have room for global warming!

Anonymous said...

No effect on housing since global warming is a myth.

Anonymous said...

I too have been wondering about this. It seems the insurance companies know (or think they know) something. Look at their recent decisions to stop writing policies along coastal areas. Not just in the Gulf and Florida, but up most of the Atlantic coast. Although I can't find the link at the moment, there was a insurance industry report that was issued not too long ago on this topic. [I found it using Google-you could too] The conclusion was that policy coverage was going to be much harder to get and more expensive to reflect current oceanic and atmospheric trends.

FlyingMonkeyWarrior said...

I reckon I will be living on the beach here in Orlando if AL Gore is right. Only I won't have to move.
Would that increase my property Value?

Anonymous said...

The heck with global warming. Based on this pic, I'll offer at least 850K for that house!

Anonymous said...

Liberal scare tactics dont affect real estate.

Anonymous said...

global warming? din't you hear? february was so cold the housing sales were in a slump.

Anonymous said...

Keith, one word: None. Study the history of our planet. We are learning that the sun plays a far more important role in so called "global warming". 30 years of data on a planet that is billions of years old speaks to the sillyness of the subject. By the way, 30 years ago the so called experts thought we were in for global cooling. Too damn funny!

Anonymous said...

What’s a little global warming? Wake up people, its the spring buying season!

Anonymous said...

Global warming is not the problem. The problem is that people are building houses where they are not meant to!

http://www.ucsusa.org/gulf/gcsolutionsspeed.html

Look at the picture of the people building beside the ocean. One house after the other, and only inches above the sea level. This is a disaster in the asking, and has absolutely nothing to do with global warming.

Back in the "good ol days" people never built there because there was no insurance and it was the wrong place to build. People knew their house would get flattened. Now people say, "oh lets get insurance and build there." Well the insurance companies are saying, "huh? us, no way."

Again nothing to do with global warming, but everything to do with people's stupidity!

Anonymous said...

Hey - just because 99% if the scientific community agrees on something doesn't mean its true.

Anonymous said...

global warming, thats so passe, it is now Global Climate Change damit get with he program.

Anonymous said...

Question:

If people don't believe in gravity do they still hit the ground at 3,000 miles an hour when pushed out of a plane?

Anonymous said...

For the first three weeks of April 2007, we were on track for the coldest April on record in Baltimore (records back to 1871). I'm not sure how it all ended, but the temperatures seemed to have moderated this past week, and probably saved the month from that dubious distinction. Anyone on the East Coast can tell you it was darn cold last month. I'd have rather been in England.

Also, it's not surprising that the weather is warmer now than than the old records in England indicate that it used to be. After all, the 350 year old record keeping was begun during the Little Ice Age. It would have sucked to live through the weather that they had during that period.

Oh, that wacky global warming -- what'll it do next?

Anonymous said...

Well, the obvious answer is that houses 100-110 meters above mean sea level will become more valuable, along with those in areas that will warm significantly. Houses below the 100m mark and those in areas subject to significant drying - Spain, central Texas, any city dependent on the Colorado for water - will become less valuable.

But those valuation changes will take centuries to happen. In the short term, home values in coastal areas of the American south will get hit the hardest, because they will get hit.

Anonymous said...

i suppose that's why banks don't care how much they loan out! can you imagine if banks stopped lending to people in areas where it wasn't likely that the loan would be paid back because certain houses would, literally, be under water and be worth nothing.

although, maybe the US government would buy it so boats wouldn't have to negotiate navigation rights...

Anonymous said...

Think of all that new land popping up in Greenland when the glaciers melt. With the coastal cities destroyed, and new land becoming available - think of the housing BOOM that could happen as people need new places to live.

I'm buying realestate in Greenland ASAP!

IB

Anonymous said...

Yes, global warming is a myth and the thousands scientific reports supporting it are all a great liberal plot to impose a one-world order. In addition, America is winning the war in Iraq, there is no housing bubble, and the Easter Bunny is real.

And conservatives wonder why they get called irrational.

Anonymous said...

You can use this site to locate future waterfront property. Just pick your elevated sea level and buy, buy, buy!

http://flood.firetree.net/?ll=43.3251,-101.6015&z=13&m=7

Anonymous said...

It was one of the coldest Marches in History here in the U.S.

Anonymous said...

Housing Hater- global warming is not a liberal scare tactic- it is based upon empirical evidence.

So, please crawl out of that f*cking cave of yours on the f*cking flat earth that you believe in.

Even better, please kill and/or castrate yourself, the world will be a much better place without your ignorant ass and its seed.

Anonymous said...

I think there will be a building bonanza where there's fresh water as mass migrations occur from the coast to safer areas. If it were up to me I'd go to South America.

Anonymous said...

The funny thing is (in a sick, demented sort of way), is that the whiners in New Orleans will want there city rebuilt next time it is wiped out and Federal and State government will do it (at taxpayers expense of course).

Prediction - Next time it gets wiped out, there will be lots more sob stories and FEMA will waste lots more money. Oh, also that it could not be predicted that another hurricane would hit New Orleans so soon. Also, everything should have been fixed by the time the next hurricane came around so there wouldn't be a repeat of Katrina.

Oh and I predict the outpouring and sympathy for everybody floating around in the aftermath will be the same as before.

Christ, just rename it Atlantis and let the damn city go!!!!

Anonymous said...

Since the Earth and Mars are heating up at the saem rate, I don't think there is much we can do except use our brains and not build along seaways and oceans where hurricaines come through - Duh! Maybe we can all get carbon offsets like Al Gore sent to our own bank account and still fly around in jets dumping tons of JP fuel into the air while pompously chastising the "little folk".

Anonymous said...

Solution = Houseboats!!!!

Anonymous said...

Yes, it's true: most home insurers want NOTHING to do with Florida, and are refusing to write homeowner policies since they took such massive losses during prior hurricane seasons. They believe in global warming's effect of fueling the severity and frequency of hurricanes enough to decide it's not worth the risk. You can only witness so many "100 year" events in a row, and start to question if maybe something intrinsic has changed....

Much like the sub-prime lenders, the insurers improperly assessed the risk inherent to the business, and dearly paid for it.


Housing hater said:

Liberal scare tactics dont affect real estate.

And apparently neither do floods or hurricanes! So let the open houses commence, with buyers paddling thru the homes in canoes! Gives all new meaning to the buyer getting 'underwater'!

As long as gambling and wagering has been legitimized and mainstreamed for the common man, is anyone willing to wager on the exact date for when the hurricane that topples Florida's market actually makes landfall, thus toppling real estate even further than it's already fallen?

Hurricane season is June 1 - Nov 30.

Anon said:

A polar shift dating from 1998 is causing the Earth to wobble.

Is that why I've felt dizzy since 1998? Huh.

Anonymous said...

The mayan calendar runs out on dec 23, 2012, not dec 21. Also, only 2/3 of the jews have to be destroyed. Do yr damn research

Anonymous said...

Where I live I always ask old fishermen who grew up working on the ocean and bays in Virginia and most of then talk about docks that never had water over them in high tides and storms now flood over from time to time. Lots of old grave sites located away from the bays are now being washed away. Old houses that never had AC are now needed, because its just too hot. It will be a great show, I'll be watching it on Fox news so it can be blamed on some middle eastern country, not that most americans leave lights on all day and drive way to much and live to waste energy. Surfs up

Anonymous said...

Funny - we had the coldest spring in the North East - record snow in NYC in April, baseball games cancelled due to snow on the fields.

Guess what - with 200 counties in the world - some place is always getting record highs and other places are getting record lows.

Marky Mark

Anonymous said...

It depends. In places like Florida, it's going to have a huge impact. In the Northeast, less so.

You can believe global warming is a myth if you wish, but insurance companies are taking it seriously, and they will pass on some seriously high premiums in the high-risk areas where they can't close up shop.

Out at the peak said...

They aren't making any more land, and the Republicans are making sure it stays in short supply! (half joke)

Anonymous said...

I don't think anything will happen.

We're heading toward another Medieval Warm Period. During that time, you could grow wheat in Greenland and there were vineyards in England.

As far as I know, no islands have sunk in the sea. (No, that one in Bangladesh eroded by a river doesn't count.) In fact, sea levels around Tuvalu have actually fallen.

http://iceagenow.com/Falling_Sea_Levels.htm

Anonymous said...

It was a whole lot warmer when the Romans invaded England. They grew grapes. So, the temps from this April are little more than piffle.

Much like the premise of a total crash of the financial underpinnings of the world.

You people are too funny.

blogger said...

Ah, it's fun to read comments from people who evidently have never read one scientific study regarding global warming weighing in with their expert opinions.

Folks, if you don't understand the issue, I'd recommend reading up a bit.

Here's a starter - enjoy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming

And why is it that people who don't believe in global warming, even against a tidal wave of scientific evidence, are the same folks who don't believe in evolution or the big bang. I'm amazed that we can get this anti-science crowd to believe in gravity. But I guess you've got to hit 'em over the head with something before they understand.

Science is not your enemy folks. Ignorance is.

But of course, those of you who say "there is no global warming" won't even take the minute to pull up that wiki link.

Here's one on evolution too, for extra credit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution

But ignorant people won't look there either. You may read something that challenges your belief system after all.

Anonymous said...

Global warming doesn't necessarily mean warmer weather, it means more severe weather. Severity is what's dangerous and expensive. Ask anyone in florida who's now paying $1,200 bucks in insurance.

Anonymous said...

Also to the disbelievers/doubters:

I guess you can afford to be flip about it because you'll be able to get your pansy ass out of danger if there's a drought or a hurricane or a flood. (Or you'll have a bunch of civilized responsible people who will help you).

Most of the people who live on the planet have no safety net and no way to escape...

Anonymous said...

Science is not your enemy folks. Ignorance is.

Alright... listen up you hicks...

NO ONE DISPUTES GLOBAL WARMING!

Can you understand that? However...

ALOT OF PEOPLE DISPUTE THAT HUMANS ARE THE CAUSE OF GLOBAL WARMING!!!!

And for those of you who think that the earth has kept an average temperature of 14 C for the last 3 billion years... you are complete flippin LOONS!!!!!!

For crying out loud - we've gone through what... 10 ice ages over the last 200 million years? SO WHAT! If any people were alive back then - do you think they would be asking themselves... "Are we causing this ice age?" like a bunch of dolts?

NO... OF COURSE NOT!

The earth goes up and down in temperature ALL THE TIME independently of human activities. If it didn't - we'd still be stuck in an ice age.

So... speaking of ignorance - get a clue. Listen to both sides, but listen carefully.

But ignorant people won't look there either. You may read something that challenges your belief system after all.

If it's a belief system - then it's NOT science. Its a RELIGION!

If we are going to BELIEVE that humans are causing global warming... why don't we BELIEVE in the tooth fairy too?

If you're planning to change people's lives - it better be based on SCIENCE, and fact. I don't feel like joining your global warming cult any time soon thank you.

IB

Anonymous said...

Hey Keith,
Did you know that during grapes were grown in The London area and even in Sweden during the dark ages (about 300-600 AD). Can you grow them today? In addition there was a period during the Bronze Age that was warmer than today that lasted at least 1000 years.
No question there has been global warming occurring during the LAST 30 years but to say that it is related mainly to human activity is not scientifically proved!!!!
I’ve seen so many scares started by scientists in my life, acid rain, ozone layer, ice age coming, cancer from potato chips, artificial sweetener and on and on. I’m surprised I’m alive. These so called scientists are believers or in it for the money that the government spends on this research. Worse and worse scenarios keep appearing in the MSM.
Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL4s5qdvaug

Mammoth said...

Think global warming is a myth? Try doing a Google search on Siberia + mammoth.

During the past 100 years, dozens of ~20,000-year old frozen mammoths have been exposed in the Siberian “not-so-permanent” permafrost. Coming to light and thawing out after thousands of years – check it out yourself.

Whether or not this is caused by man, something big is happening, folks.

Anonymous said...

the global cooling pickpockets of the 80's have returned??, guess i better get my doctor of the 60's endorsed health improvement effects of a pack of Camels!!!

Anonymous said...

If people don't believe in gravity do they still hit the ground at 3,000 miles an hour when pushed out of a plane?

Yes, but they blame it on somebody else, or forget they ever denied the existence of gravity. Ignorance is curable, but there is no hope for the intrinsically stupid.

Anonymous said...

Can you grow grapes in England now?

Uh...yeah....

http://www.corkpops.com/Wineries/WineryLinks_GrBt.html

Anonymous said...

Global Warming? Awesome-Lower Heating Bill!

Anonymous said...

" We are learning that the sun plays a far more important role in so called "global warming"."

There are an enormous number of anti-scientific lies being presented and believed by many otherwise smart people.

Yes, historically the Sun was a significant influence on climate.

How much has the Sun, today, had on the observed global warming? Very little. Scientists have NOT forgotten about the Sun---they've been observing and measuring it for decades. The Sun has NOT changed in any way sufficient to explain the observed facts.


The chemistry of the atmosphere, i.e. greenhouse gases, has changed. This is observed fact, not theory, and so is the increase in stratosphereic infrared emissivity over decades. Global warming from an increased greenhouse effect is an observed physical fact, measured in place by satellites, balloons and aircraft. No theory required, though it is 100% consistent with observations.

The Medieval warm period was regional warming, not global warming. (Northern Europe is not the planet).

If we had modern geophysical observational tools then, we would have figured out the precise cause of it too. Asserting today is like then, is entirely incorrect since we can measure very comprehensively what is happening now.

Scientists have in fact thought of every possible alternative explanation---years and decades before the denialist know-nothings latched on to them--and pursued and probed them with quantitative computations and hard experimental evidence.

Yes, in fact, I am a professional scientist.

No, I don't want global warming to be true, but Mother Nature doesn't give a crap about what I or you or Fox News wants or thinks. It just is.

please see

www.realclimate.org

to get a decent idea of what actual serious scientists think.


Did you know that during grapes were grown in The London area and even in Sweden during the dark ages (about 300-600 AD). Can you grow them today?


Oy-fucking-vey.

http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2006/11/english-vineyards-again/
http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2006/07/medieval-warmth-and-english-wine/

Contemporary English vinyard production is at its all-time maximum.

Anonymous said...

Wow, some strong opinions from the true believers. Come on, tell us, what kind of sanctions and penalties do we need for the faithless, the ones who still refuse to accept human-triggered global warming?

Public floggings?
Fines?
Rehab camps?
Lobotomies?

So let's hear what the "professional scientists" propose - LOL!

Anonymous said...

Keith usually recommends that we "follow the money" but for some reason on this issue he believes that the money is leading us to the "truth."

If I were a scientist you can bet that I'd be applying for every grant making sure to use the right buzzwords like "global warming","climate change", "caused by man" and I'd throw in some stuff about "diversity" because that still has a lot of currency.

Anonymous said...

A pic is worth a thousand words...

www.icemelt.blogspot.com

Looks like Greenland's Ice sheet is going to be history and the resulting rise in sea level will turn London into a swimming pool.

Anonymous said...

Um isn't it cooler now for the liberals to call it climate change? get with the time dude, global warming is so 2003!! Haven't you heard, global warming actually causes cold weather too. Duh where have you been.

Anonymous said...

MAN-MADE Global Climate Change is yet another mania in progress...