February 25, 2019

Word: The future of climate

Science Alert -By about the time our great-grandchildren have children of their own, we humans will likely have broken a climate record that has stood unchallenged for 56 million years.

New research has found that humans are pumping nearly 10 times more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than what was emitted during Earth's last major warming event, called the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum.

If carbon emissions continue to rise in the future, mathematical models predict that within the next few hundred years, we could be facing another PETM-like event.

In other words, in the near future, Earth could resemble its distant past: a time when the Arctic was free of ice, inhabited by crocodiles and dotted by palm trees.

Global temperatures during the PETM peaked at about 7 degrees Celsius (13 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than today's average, and we are quickly catching up to those heights.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

He has to look good for people who may want him.

Anonymous said...

Have we seen sea level rises?

No, not models - actual rises?

Let's not go all Luddite just yet. Relax. We will figure this tech out.

No need for authoritarian measures.

Anonymous said...

Yes, we have seen more frequent flooding during normal (non-storm) tides in low-lying cities such as Miami Beach, FL and Annapolis, MD. Developing new, clean energy technologies is neither authoritarian nor Luddite. Government subsidized coal production is both.