Reference: Group floats plan to keep rising sea out, Bangkok Post, November 26, 2007

It has been more than a year now that scientists and climate experts sought a budget of 100 billion baht to build a sea wall 80 kilometers long from the mouth of the Ta Chin river to the Bang Pakong river to protect the city of Bangkok from being inundated by the sea that was projected to rise by 20 cm per year due to man-made global warming (Group floats plan to keep rising sea out, Bangkok Post, November 26, 2007). The following year, the fear factor was further stoked by one of these climate experts with a forecast that sometime during October of 2008, global warming will give us a Nargis-like tropical cyclone that will cause a killer storm surge and devastate Bangkok and Samut Prakarn (Fear of a storm surge in Samut Prakarn, Bangkok Post, August 27, 2008). Happily, as of this date, the sea level has not risen at all let alone by 20 cm; and October of 2008 has come and gone with no cyclone and no storm surge. Sadly, however, the media that had allowed itself to become embroiled in spreading fear have yet to hold their fearologists accountable or to give us a post-hoc report on their prophecies of doom.

Cha-am Jamal

Thailand