Pretty good analyses of the findings. Looking like 3 deg F is a given, with a range of 2.5 to 4. Let that sink in for a moment. Then consider that the biggest criticism of the past IPCC reports has been that they are far too optimistic. Yes, we are fucked. Are we doomed? Well, we still get to decide that, but humanity has assured that our children’s children will curse us for being selfish, short-sighted assholes. The future has yet to be written, but our past does not give me a lot of warm fuzzy feelings. Especially given that this sort of crisis is custom made for generating authoritarian rulers of the “only I can fix this” variety.
ETA: As usual with Ars, the comment section is actually worth reading.
It’s also worth noting that the IPCC is typically conservative in it’s reports. It represents the agreement of a wide swath of scientists and is in no way a worst-case scenario, more like “this is generally agreed that at least this much will happen that we can fully backup with piles of research that we also all agree on.” (Still reading it… they mention Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) a good deal, which is mildly terrifying.)
I heard an analogy on a podcast recently. Imagine one of those large, 13-passenger vans, full of people, driving towards a cliff. Things are gonna get bad in that van way before it goes over the cliff. My view of the next couple decades grows dimmer every week.
The inability of folks doing something ahead of time has always been the problem when it comes to taking action let alone discussing plans about what to do about global warming.
This aired on tv in 1997. FREAKING NINTEEN NINETY SEVEN! We got 90 degree weather in Alaska a few years ago and this year it was significantly hotter in British Columbia than it was on a horrible day in Arizona. We’d be lucky to even be able to grow oranges in Alaska at the rate we’re going.
Sadly there’s no fleeing climate change anyway. The hottest place on the planet this year was a small town in north central British Columbia, and the forest fires have been big and getting bigger every year.
It’s tempting for us Canadians to think “oh it gets cold here so if anything the winters will just get nicer” but that’s not how it works. Drought and fires for starters, and the warming climate will spread more mosquitos. Termites are coming north next. Talk to your Californian friends about what fun they are. Alberta will start getting regular tornadoes any year now, instead of the once-every-fifty-years they used to happen. Every part of the planet has some weather condition that can get worse and it all will.
Too bad the UN is still pushing individual actions by the disempowered citizens instead of action by governments. Everything we, the people can do doesn’t amount to squat compared to the harm done by massive corporations and government actions.
Great, you cooked at home instead of calling DoorDash; hooray! Meanwhile, new Hollywood production wasted 200,000 gallons of fossil fuels, several tons of food and water, and polluted the air with hundreds of staged explosions, and tonight will fly its stars, executives, and thousands of their personal staff across the country to accept a humanitarian award for calling attention to the need for fresh water.
Phhhfft!
Not the best headline. The time is now, and always has been. What changes constantly is that for each delay, the best case scenarios worsens. It is never to late to act, it does get harder and harder though to make a livable world.
Strong agree, and this is the sentiment I was going for in my opening comment as well. Creating a drumbeat of “we’re all doomed” may make the problem worse because it makes people give up.
Solution: world governments immediately ban or heavily regulate all gasoline vehicles. They then start buying and providing electric vehicles and the infrastructure for them to everyone.
Imagine it’s World War 2 and the enemy is at the gates-- the US went into huge debt to pay for the war (like we do for all wars), why not for this?
This. I’ve heard too many such people literally say out loud that climate change doesn’t affect their planning because they’ll be retired/dead before the biggest impacts hit.
50% and 90% shadecloth may buy you some time. Agree re ambient air temps affecting production. Some of us raising tomatoes (homescale) in Texas have switched to wicking beds, positioned under very large trees, for the shade, evapotranspiration and cooling qualities. Others here cut back their indeterminate tomatoes about 4" above soil line and wait for a second flush/crop after the heat breaks.
We’re already there. We just haven’t arrived yet. I’ll do all I can to avoid the inevitable, but the reality remains that it is, in fact, inevitable. I’m under zero illusions to the contrary, having seen how the majority of my fellow earthlings behave. We’re fucking hosed.
We’re not all gonna die from climate change. Most of us won’t.
So it seems to me that instead of regurgitating simplistic nihilism while throwing our hands in the air, we can learn about and push for ways to mitigate the definitely impending effects.
