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Abrupt climate change

I’ve just watched a good video on the andthentheresphysics blog about climate change that begs to be shared. It’s called Expecting the Unexpected and features scientists discussing the possibility of abrupt climate change which is something we should fear. Here it is:

Climate science contrarians like to say that climate change is nothing to worry about but this is not what scientists are telling us. The Royal Society and the US National Academy of Sciences recently released a report about climate change that is geared towards the general public. It’s available for download: Climate Change: Evidence & Causes

One of the questions they ask and answer is, Are climate changes of a few degrees a cause for concern?. Their answer is YES. People don’t seem to understand that a change in the global average temperature of a few degrees is substantial and cause for concern. During the last ice age, global average temperatures were only about 4-5° colder than now and this was enough for an ice age! They say,

Global warming of just a few degrees will be associated with widespread changes in regional and local temperature and precipitation as well as with increases in some types of extreme weather events. These and other changes (such as sea level rise and storm surge) will have serious impacts on human societies and the natural world.

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Rachel M

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Comments

10 responses to “Abrupt climate change”

  1. Shub Niggurath Avatar
    Shub Niggurath

    I don’t why you fall for this weird alarmist stuff.

    Reply
    1. Rachel Avatar
      Rachel

      Shub,
      On what basis do you determine that what the Royal Society and the US National Academy of Sciences are saying is weird and alarmist?

      Reply
      1. andthentheresphysics Avatar
        andthentheresphysics

        Surely Shub is quite entitled to find it weird and alarming if he/she wishes to do so?

      2. Rachel Avatar
        Rachel

        Yes, of course. Shub is entitled to think whatever he/she wants.

  2. Mary Walker Avatar
    Mary Walker

    I belie my age but I’m well aware that I have less years ahead of me than have gone before. I worry deeply for future generations who inherit our legacy and I will not be sorry to leave beforehand.

    Reply
    1. Rachel Avatar
      Rachel

      I’m with you, Mary. I don’t want to be here when all the ice is gone and winters are a thing of the past and I’m fairly sure I will be gone before this happens if it does at all. I am still hopeful that we’ll do something concrete about it rather than passing the headache onto future generations to deal with.

      Reply
  3. helenofmarlowe Avatar
    helenofmarlowe

    It hard to understand how we can race off the edge, so blithly killing other species and surely leading toward a world that will not support our own species. I did watch the vido you posted and sometimes I wonder whether our species is worth saving. Those of us who simply want to use the world they have and trash it for future generations of human s and other animals. We must work to elect politicians who have the brains and education to understand, and the heart to care.

    Reply
    1. Mary Walker Avatar
      Mary Walker

      Good point, Helen. To hear politicians even voicing the words ‘climate change’ recently was music to my ears. Call me an optimist but I’m not sure the people who ‘run the world’ can continue to ignore the evidence. A big thank you to Rachel too, for raising many important issues and giving us a forum for discussion. At least we know we’re not the only ones who care.

      Reply
    2. John Barltrop Avatar
      John Barltrop

      Helen, I am afraid that your last sentence was an oxymoron……….poilticians who have brains…………..those two do not really go together.
      Take our illustrious, lame brain, prime minister in Australia……..here is a so called educated man ignoring what 97% of scientists in the fields of meteorology, oceanography, glaciology, geology, etc., are saying………. Oh! How silly of me, I should have known that these professionals in their respective areas of expertise have absolutely no idea of what they are talking about.
      Unfortunately, Helen there are too many of these clownish, pathetic, politicians around the earth………particularly in the Western world that are at the beck and call of the coal, oil and gas moguls…………..and I don’t think they give a damn about anyone or anything except themselves!!!!

      Reply
  4. belsbror Avatar
    belsbror

    It is real. It’s happening.

    Reply

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