I realize this isn\'t really important, but, I was just wondering if anyone else feels the way I do. My model just reached 2050. As I was looking at the date, I realized that I probably won’t live to see that day. I was born in 1950. In 2050 I will be 100 years old. I certainly won’t live to see 2080. I supposed that some of the younger people running the model can confidently expect to live to see 2080, but, I won’t. It makes me feel a little depressed. Does it make anyone else out there feel the same?

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Yesterday I saw one of my models reach my 100th birthday - more likely to be celebrated in my absence by my children as the 100th anniversary of my birth. Exactly the same thoughts and intimations of mortality crossed my mind, but I can\'t say it makes me feel depressed. It does help to place our lifespan and what we do during it within a wider historical context. The whole-world graphics perhaps also help us take a global view of what\'s happening instead of being limited to a local or national perspective.

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Yesterday I saw one of my models reach my 100th birthday - more likely to be celebrated in my absence by my children as the 100th anniversary of my birth. Exactly the same thoughts and intimations of mortality crossed my mind, but I can\'t say it makes me feel depressed. It does help to place our lifespan and what we do during it within a wider historical context. The whole-world graphics perhaps also help us take a global view of what\'s happening instead of being limited to a local or national perspective.

Hi, this is Jim. I do try to keep a global perspective on this issue. I hope that on the 100 anniversary of my birth the World will be a better (or at least not a worse) place. I have been an environmentalist since the first Earth Day back in the 1970s. One of the reasons that I am taking part in the Climateprediction project is the hope that in some very small way I can help stop the ruinous change in our climate. I live on Long Island, only seven miles from the ocean. It would be best if our decedents didn’t have to live in coastal cities surrounded by levees. The people of New Orleans learned the hard way the consequences of living in a city that is below sea level.

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I believe that both London and New York are at risk from sea level rise. Am I right in thinking that parts of the NY subway already flood sometimes?

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I believe that both London and New York are at risk from sea level rise. Am I right in thinking that parts of the NY subway already flood sometimes?

Hi, this is Jim.

Yes the Subways have flooded twice in the last 4 months, but, that seem to be due mostly to poor drainage system in the tunnels during heavy rain. But you are right about New York City and Long Island being very vulnerable to sea level rise. A rise of only 3 feet would flood parts of lower Manhattan. The South Shore of Long Island is also vulnerable. Sea level rise will greatly increase the pace of storm erosion. My house should be safe enough for as long as I need it. According to Google Earth it is 131 feet above sea level.

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I believe a new extra flood barrier is planned for the River Thames to protect London. It will be downstream of the existing one. Obviously a lot of money will be spent to (try to) keep London and New York safe, but some cities and many villages will be considered expendable.

I expect that the higher the water table, the more likely it is that tunnels eg for the NY subway will flood in heavy rain.

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I realize this isn\'t really important, but, I was just wondering if anyone else feels the way I do. My model just reached 2050. As I was looking at the date, I realized that I probably won’t live to see that day. I was born in 1950. In 2050 I will be 100 years old. I certainly won’t live to see 2080. I supposed that some of the younger people running the model can confidently expect to live to see 2080, but, I won’t. It makes me feel a little depressed. Does it make anyone else out there feel the same?

It all comes down to your view of time. If time is divided into 3 phases (Past, Present, Future), then clearly 1950 is in Past and 2050 is in Future. But how big is Present? Present isn\'t a year long; it\'s less than that. It isn\'t an hour long; it\'s less than that. It isn\'t even a millisecond long; it\'s less than that. If we say that Present is the point in time when Future becomes Past, Present has zero duration. In other words, from a psycho-scientific perspective, Present doesn\'t actually exist! Comforting or not?