Left Flank

It'll be a sad day for a Marylander when Bangladesh landmass grows. and Maryland's coastal areas shrinks, all because of global warming.

Yet, looking at the two unrelated reports from which these dire predictions are lifted, I wonder who's really alarmed, or if there's cause for alarm.

Mr Sarkar said that in the next 50 years this could add up to the country gaining 1,000 square kilometres.

But others maintain that Bangladesh is going to lose land over that period.

Dr Atiq Rahman, a lead author of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, told the BBC that there was little in the new research to make him think that their projection needed revising.

He said that many people living along the coast had observed that sea levels where higher now than in their grandparents' day.

«The rate at which sediment is deposited and new land is created is much slower than the rate at which climate change and sea level rises are taking place,» he said.

So while some new land may be created in parts of the country, elsewhere a much larger amount of land will disappear, he said.

Push, pull?

As temperatures climb, cool-water northern species in the Chesapeake estuary, such as soft-shell clams, sturgeon and eelgrass, are likely to disappear, while warm-water species - such as Atlantic croaker - would benefit. Crabs might prosper from higher salinity and warmer temperatures.

«Summertime water temperatures are likely to be similar to those of the North Carolina sounds by 2050,» the panel said.

By 2100, they'll feel like South Florida.

With added runoff, that will expand «dead» zones, where nutrients in sediments lead to algae blooms, decay and reductions in dissolved oxygen.

On the plus side: Icing across the Chesapeake Bay - formerly a once-in-10-years event - may become as rare as once in 25 to 40 years, the committee said. That could aid oystermen and bay navigation.

Why do both reports sound like pork-barrel legislation written by lobbyists?