In the 1978 film Superman, the Man of Steel’s nemesis (Lex Luthor) plots to trigger a massive earthquake along the San Andreas Fault. Since his plan calls for everything west of the fault line to crash into the ocean, Luthor delights in knowing his virtually-worthless land east of the fault will become valuable oceanfront property.
If the film were remade today, I would humbly suggest Luthor take a different tac. With the aid of a Greenhouse Gas Output Thingie (henceforth referred to as “GGOT”), the evil genius would buy land far inland, crank up the Earth’s temperature, raise sea levels, and still end up with the object of his desire… oceanfront property.
In this version, though, his plan would ultimately be self-defeating. Since global warming would spin out of his control, his property, too, would end up underwater.
In real life, unfortunately, we are ALL operating GGOTs big and small. By burning fossil fuels, our vehicles, buildings, power plants, et al, are warming the climate and raising sea levels. Superman would not be pleased.
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