Climate Change: It's bad and getting worse-

[Endurance]

For those who haven't been watching Years of Living Dangerously, I highly recommend that.

.. Interesting series!

The IPCC AR5 is a fantastic scientific achievement.. It provides the most up to date scientific evidence relating to climate change. It is extremely dense and might be one of the most tedious pieces of work I've ever read.. The Summary for Policy Makers (SPM) is a basic overview of what is covered in the body text.So for those interested it would be a good resource.

This..

are carbon-dioxide emissions the cause of this? who knows. it's not "provable".
what I do know is that carbon-dioxide traps infrared energy, which causes an increase in temperature;

..not "provable" here still holds today, although the levels of confidence have increased. I think it's somewhere around > 95% (almost certain) that the warming can be attributed to anthropogenic forces.

Something interesting that came out of the WG1 report meeting was that there was almost no disagreement (between country delegates) that climate change is occurring.. This is a major shift in outlook when compared with say 5 or 6 years ago..

 

[steppa]

One thing I'd like to add is, that just cause we think that our climate is the norm, this doesn't need to be true.

Have a look at Temperatures/Co2 values over several Eras:

Also keep in mind that the earth's "normal" state is WITHOUT ice on the poles. Basically what I want to say is, that we don't harm the earth ot nature. The only ones we harm are ourselves.

 

[Ufostrahlen]

3 super short clips (4:30min total) by NASA

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(If the videos don't play, click on the YouTube icon in the video bar)

 

[Ufostrahlen]

And the Projected U.S. Precipitation & Temperature Changes by 2100 (2:00 min total)

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(If the videos don't play, click on the YouTube icon in the video bar)

California's Historic Drought
Mar 27, 2014

The year 2013 was the driest in California's recorded history, and predictions for 2014 aren't much better. Three consecutive years of below-normal rainfall have left reservoirs at a fraction of their normal depth, seriously threatening farms in the state that grows half the nation's fruits and vegetables.

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2014/03/californias-historic-drought/100706/

 

[Guyomech]

I think it's ridiculous to argue what is "normal" for the earth across the eons. What matters is, what's survivable by us? If there is natural fluctuation that's just a part of the picture; it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that we have changed the atmosphere to at least some extent. To chalk climate change up to natural fluctuation and conclude that we should do nothing is equivalent to being a passenger in a car driven by a sleeping driver- when headed for a cliff, do you grab the wheel and do something about it? Or do you declare, "not my fault", do nothing, and plunge over the edge?

 

[Enoon]

Good one Guyomech. I agree very much with your statement. Whatever the reason behind climate change, it's not a positive development if we want to go on living on this planet. The life-sustaining eco-systems are being strained and at some point will collapse and with them we all go. Mass extinction is a real possibility, as far as some scientists go. Now mass extinctions are also normal. They have happened before. But I'm probably most of us don't want it to happen...

Me, I'm not too sure anymore. Sometimes I think it's the only solution. Start over.

 

[steppa]

I think it's ridiculous to argue what is "normal" for the earth across the eons. What matters is, what's survivable by us? If there is natural fluctuation that's just a part of the picture; it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that we have changed the atmosphere to at least some extent. To chalk climate change up to natural fluctuation and conclude that we should do nothing is equivalent to being a passenger in a car driven by a sleeping driver- when headed for a cliff, do you grab the wheel and do something about it? Or do you declare, "not my fault", do nothing, and plunge over the edge?

I guess this was in my direction...

I think you got me bit wrong. I do think that we contribute to the climate change, that's out of question. I'll try to explain my view. The thing is, that writing here always takes me a long time, because it's not so easy for me to get my gramma right, find the right words etc. ....sometimes I have to look up words. So it happens often that I can't express and present myself like I want to.

What I mean is...

Lets say we can do better than expected and reduce our emissions under a certain level in the next few years. This ..maybe... would give humanity some more time. But we are still at the end of an ice age. Ice will still melt...ocean levels will still rise in the long run. Dramtic climate changes happen. In my opion it's more or less ignorant think that this will save humanity from anything. ...in the long run. But I also think that humanity is able to adapt. We already had dramatic climate changes and we are still here...as humans. And yes people will die cause of climate change....but you know what. In about 130 years, everybody you came across till now and everybody who is on this planet now...will be dead. What I think is that it doesn't really matter...in the long run.

There are sooo many different scenarios on humanity could go down... Think of viruses, astroids, superhuge volcanoes, frozen methane in the ground which _will_ melt and also will have a dramatic effect on our climate and our species.

But I think that humanity is pretty damn well evolved and able to adapt.

To use youre metaphor.... There is no driver. It's a robot car, made by google and the doors are locked. Que sera, sera...

 

[joedirt]

Why do all the study's that supposedly prove that man created global warming either end up missing, manipulated in some way or just out right fraudulent.

What are ALL these studies you are talking about? Give us a percentage of all published climate studies that are fraudulent.

But I can tell you are getting a little temperamental, this is why I stay out of religious debates.

With all due respect, it's not religion, it is science and the FACTS speak for themselves and not random internet bloggers claiming such and such. And quite frankly when conspiracy theorists, like yourself, bring nothing of substance to the table on an issue as important as climate change it is flat out irritating.

 

[Endurance]

Why do all the study's that supposedly prove that man created global warming either end up missing, manipulated in some way or just out right fraudulent.

What are ALL these studies you are talking about? Give us a percentage of all published climate studies that are fraudulent.

.. I'll make reference to this

The IPCC AR5

The report is the most comprehensive assemblage of evidence relating to climate change available..

Although I agree with you joedirt.. When you say

With all due respect, it's not religion, it is science and the FACTS speak for themselves....

The word "facts " used here does have the potential to be misleading or misinterpreted. Although you are very right that there are some unequivocal facts..

what I do know is that carbon-dioxide traps infrared energy, which causes an increase in temperature

Is what would probably be considered as fact..


Maybe it is a case for semantics but I just get hesitant when using the word "fact" especially when speaking about climate change. More specifically the degree of predicted change. The text contained within the IPCC AR5 is an excellent example of this. Authors are inclined to use levels of confidence when talking about climate dynamics.

Although I think this claim

Why do all the study's that supposedly prove that man created global warming either end up missing, manipulated in some way or just out right fraudulent.

is grossly exaggerated.. I'd rather not address that in this post. What I'd be more interested in is whether, in your opinion, the claim still holds true for you? Given that the post quoted from was in 2011, it would be interesting to hear if any recent evidence has changed your viewpoint?

 

[Koornut]

I'd say drastic measures are applicable if they weren't so quickly dismissed as environmental terrorism. Diplomacy sucks sometimes.

NASA Confirms Earth’s Temperature Reached an Even-More-Terrifying Milestone in February

Update, March 12, 2016: Data released Saturday from NASA confim that February 2016 was not only the most unusually warm month ever measured globally,...

www.slate.com

"Parts of the Arctic were more than 16 degrees Celsius (29 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than “normal” for the month of February, bringing them a few degrees above freezing, on par with typical June levels, in what is typically the coldest month of the year."