2008-02-20 Venice sea levels plunge to 14-year low

2008-02-20 \global warming denial\Venice http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/20/2167375.htm Australian Broadcasting Corporation Venice sea levels plunge to 14-year low &ldquo;Canals [in Venice, Italy] slipped on Monday to 80 centimetres below average sea level, the lowest since 1994, and remained at "Code White" levels on Tuesday.&rdquo;  Venice, Italy: &ldquo;Canals slipped on Monday to 80 centimetres below average sea level, the lowest since 1994, and remained at "Code White" levels on Tuesday. The lowest level ever recorded in Venice was 1.24 metres below in 1882, the Centro Maree said, citing historical research. This event has been used as an argument against global warming (link no good; Googling this quote currently brings up some re-posts): "But, but, but, Al Gore said the ice caps were melting and we were all gonna drown if we did not pay the carbon tax!!!" The article makes it clear that the problem is the degree to which Venice's canal water has fallen below mean sea level; mean sea level is what would be affected by GW. It's not clear how Venice's waters could be so far below sea level (is this the mean sea level of the Mediterranean, or globally? do Venice's canal levels track the Mediterranean's level, or can they be lower?), but that is apparently the fact in the matter.

Also note that Venice has been slowly sinking for some time now, which makes this news item doubly odd without some further explanation.

2011-10-17 note: possibly they mean "average over time", not "average across the ocean"?   