Support NeoGAF

[mckmas8808]

It says "A 3.5 degrees C increase is considered to be the extinction point" and "The International Energy Agency predicts a 3.5C increase by 2035” (see here)."

You are only reading part of the OP. It also says this.

and science shows that there is a 40-year time lag between global emissions and climate impacts.

So yes the 3.5 degree C increase is predicted to be by 2035. The effects of that increase would be seen around the year 2075. Scary, but not what you stated earlier.

 

[maniac-kun]

Here a bunch of links that show you how real climate change is:

https://sites.google.com/site/arcticseaicegraphs/

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/2016

http://cci-reanalyzer.org/ <- tool to view different climate things like temperature anomalies

https://earth.nullschool.net/ <- tool that is similar but uses modern web tech

 

[King Gilga]

Eh, we had a good run, not too fussed.

 

[Famassu]

Eh, we had a good run, not too fussed.

Good run? Most of humanity hasn't been able to not be at war with each other or otherwise not shit on each other for more than a few decades at most.

 

[Warm Machine]

I wish I hadn't read this article. I have a hard time with anxiety and depression in general, anything concerning global warming sends me into overdrive. I feel helpless, stupid, doomed... I just hope that we all go out peacefully. Yeah, fat chance of that happening.

Start by making changes in your personal life that helps the planet. Recycle, walk instead of drive, cut down on meat, eat and drink local.

 

[Dugna]

Just a question, if the US and EU and most countries who care about this take said measures is that enough to prevent some of the damage this event? Or will things like China still doing what its doing just null whatever we try?

 

[PdotMichael]

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/542526/china-details-next-gen-nuclear-reactor-program/

China is putting heavy research into the molten salt reactor (which is a type of LFTR).

China is right now who invests in nuclear energy and builds new reactors (basically thr only ones) but even China invests five times so much energy in renewable energy than in nuclear energy

Just a question, if the US and EU and most countries who care about this take said measures is that enough to prevent some of the damage this event? Or will things like China still doing what its doing just null whatever we try?

What is China doing right now?.

 

[Lime]

The world is willing to spend trillions a year to protect itself from terrorism, Russia etc while only a fraction is spent to prevent literally the end of the world from global warming. We could have a 911 attack every day and the threat would still pale in comparison.

Had the same thought today. We'd rather over spend trillions of dollars on Bear Patrol than saving humanity and plenty of other species.

 

[ahoyhoy]

Had the same thought today. We'd rather over spend trillions of dollars on Bear Patrol than saving humanity and plenty of other species.

Really sad that we spend so much money "protecting" infrastructure rather than fixing it.

The extreme weather is only going to get worse and our shitty roads and bridges won't last too long under the strain.

 

[AstroNut325]

Just a question, if the US and EU and most countries who care about this take said measures is that enough to prevent some of the damage this event? Or will things like China still doing what its doing just null whatever we try?

My limited research into this says that even if we whole world stops using fossil fuels entirely today, we're still looking at a 2-2.5C increase in global temperature in the next 2 to 3 decades. That's enough to screw up all kinds of ecosystems and food chains.

There are changes coming regardless of what we do now. Big ones.

We can only hope to reduce further accelerations in energy build up in the atmosphere and the oceans.

 

[afternoon delight]

The irony is, the majority of the population are not that greedy. It's a tiny minority that are so greedy that they are willing and able to destroy everything.

Anecdotally as an American I don't agree with this at all- large, overwhelming swaths of people are actually selfish assholes with little to no regard for any outside their own brood.

 

[Blatz]

My limited research into this says that even if we whole world stops using fossil fuels entirely today, we're still looking at a 2-2.5C increase in global temperature in the next 2 to 3 decades. That's enough to screw up all kinds of ecosystems and food chains.

There are changes coming regardless of what we do now. Big ones.

We can only hope to reduce further accelerations in energy build up in the atmosphere and the oceans.

I'm afraid of this also. And the entire "web-of-denial" community would scream "See, all this work and nothing to show for it" the whole time.

 

[Jokab]

Al Gore seems optimistic, though...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVfgkFaswn4

Fuck man he's such a good speaker, and a good person from what I can tell. Imagine if he won over Bush. I wonder how that world would have looked.

 

[Lime]

Fuck man he's such a good speaker, and a good person from what I can tell. Imagine if he won over Bush. I wonder how that world would have looked.

Maybe no Iraq and no ISIS and no Syria as well

Good job, America!

 

[maquiladora]

What is China doing right now?.

.

 

[KurtSloane]

Earth will be fine and life will recover, it has endured much worse than humans.

Humans are fucked, space is our only hope and we have forsaken it for our petty issues here on the ground ...... survival of the species outweighs all.

 

[Alebrije]

When the time comes only rich and politicians will save themselves , living on islands or cities protected by walls

The rest of us will be related to a Scape from New York scenario

 

[diab0lus.ex.machina]

My whole thing with climate change is that it's completely irrelevant whether or not the science is right or wrong. It literally doesn't matter which "side" is correct.

It just comes down to two possible choices...

Either you do nothing about it, or you do something about it.

I mean, either scientists are right about climate change, or they're wrong, but it doesn't matter which in the end. The correct course of action regardless is to actually try doing something about it.

Think about it like this: If we do nothing, and scientists end up being wrong (would be nice), then the absolute BEST possible outcome is that things stay pretty much exactly how they are now. But, that's potentially a huge HUGE fucking risk you're taking, because if they were actually right all along, then we're fucked.

On the other hand, if we actually act like climate change is real and we actually put effort into doing something about it, then regardless of whether scientists are right or not we are still ultimately better off than if we did nothing. In other words, even if we do something about it and scientists end up being wrong and climate change isn't really a thing, we still wind up having developed better technology, end up advancing ourselves as a society and as a species, we end up saving more money individually and as a society (because more advanced energy tech typically involves things like solar/wind/fusion/nuclear--all of which tend to be a lot cheaper and more renewable than oil, gas, carbon stuff, etc), and we move likely into a new age of humanity.

So... either we do nothing, in which case we are taking a monumental risk for little or no return whatsoever (at best), or we actually do something, in which case we take very little risk, but (at worst) are pretty much guaranteed to come out way better off than we were no matter what actually ends up happening.

Pretty obvious choice to me. Of course I realize that the real problem is corporate bullshit, but this stuff only works because a huge chunk of the general population thinks the idea of climate change is bullshit. Point is, it doesn't fucking matter!

 

[ghostofsparta]

Help us Elon Musk, you're our only hope.

Is this a meme at this point? I see this everywhere. Elon "Second Coming of Jesus" Musk

 

[Lime]

.

but that doesn't take into account pr. citizen

The US and Australia (and Canada and Europe) are still the biggest culprits, both per capita and historically.

http://www.wri.org/blog/2014/11/6-graphs-explain-world’s-top-10-emitters

 

[Theonik]

but that doesn't take into account pr. citizen

The US and Australia (and Canada and Europe) are still the biggest culprits, both per capita and historically.

http://www.wri.org/blog/2014/11/6-graphs-explain-world’s-top-10-emitters

China is catching up just you wait!

 

[PdotMichael]

USA has also an incredible trade balance deficit, so it doesn't just outsource its industry but also its Co2 output (and they are still far worse than Europe or the typical industry nation like Germany and Japan) but still consume like the idiots and then complain about other countries.

As US american you are the last one in the line who is allowed to complain about other nations in any environment related question.

 

[bodyboarder]

but that doesn't take into account pr. citizen

The US and Australia (and Canada and Europe) are still the biggest culprits, both per capita and historically.

http://www.wri.org/blog/2014/11/6-graphs-explain-world’s-top-10-emitters

Australia isn't mentioned once.

 

[Frankenstrat]

As an American, I'm not sure what I can do outside of pleading with the people I know and elected officials. I already plan on going hybrid or electric as soon as I possibly can and start buying solar panels when I have that kind of money but in the meantime it feels like I'm goddamned stuck in the most wasteful nation on earth. I feel like I have a panic attack every time I think about this and how little we are doing.

 

[AstroNut325]

This is from 2012, but it needs to be seen by more people:
https://youtu.be/kx1Jxk6kjbQ?t=9s

There is a very high chance we're going for catastrophe and the first thing we think about is "How will people get to work?!?!"

 

[bounchfx]

My whole thing with climate change is that it's completely irrelevant whether or not the science is right or wrong. It literally doesn't matter which "side" is correct.

It just comes down to two possible choices...

Either you do nothing about it, or you do something about it.

I mean, either scientists are right about climate change, or they're wrong, but it doesn't matter which in the end. The correct course of action regardless is to actually try doing something about it.

Think about it like this: If we do nothing, and scientists end up being wrong (would be nice), then the absolute BEST possible outcome is that things stay pretty much exactly how they are now. But, that's potentially a huge HUGE fucking risk you're taking, because if they were actually right all along, then we're fucked.

On the other hand, if we actually act like climate change is real and we actually put effort into doing something about it, then regardless of whether scientists are right or not we are still ultimately better off than if we did nothing. In other words, even if we do something about it and scientists end up being wrong and climate change isn't really a thing, we still wind up having developed better technology, end up advancing ourselves as a society and as a species, we end up saving more money individually and as a society (because more advanced energy tech typically involves things like solar/wind/fusion/nuclear--all of which tend to be a lot cheaper and more renewable than oil, gas, carbon stuff, etc), and we move likely into a new age of humanity.

So... either we do nothing, in which case we are taking a monumental risk for little or no return whatsoever (at best), or we actually do something, in which case we take very little risk, but (at worst) are pretty much guaranteed to come out way better off than we were no matter what actually ends up happening.

Pretty obvious choice to me. Of course I realize that the real problem is corporate bullshit, but this stuff only works because a huge chunk of the general population thinks the idea of climate change is bullshit. Point is, it doesn't fucking matter!

this is the result of someone actually critically thinking about the issue. I wish more people followed this line of thought to the obvious conclusion. there is little to no downside to take a protective measure like this, outside of a few cunts that want to line their pockets instead.

 

[Joe]

People 100 years from now: "they knew and they still did nothing."

 

[Machina]

I wonder just how fucked we have to be for governments to actually take it seriously?

It won't happen at all. As soon as it becomes obvious Earth is doomed, all the richies will jump on a ship and fuck off to a newly terraformed Mars where only the super rich can afford to live and they will neither bat an eyelash or look back.

 

[Mr_Moogle]

The Liberal government in Australia are still opening up new coal mines. They don't give a flying fuck about climate change. Our country is absolutely ripe for Solar and Nuclear and still we persist with Coal. It's appalling.

 

[MagnesD3]

People 100 years from now: "they knew and they still did nothing."

Yep. Apathy is the Devil and the devil is everywhere...

 

[pestul]

Canada is terrible per capita. We're all trucking around in our giant V8s and wasting like there ain't no tomorrow. There ain't no tomorrow.

 

[Baron Doggystyle von Woof]

People 100 years from now: "they knew and they still did nothing."

The worst thing is people still deny it.

 

[Theonik]

It won't happen at all. As soon as it becomes obvious Earth is doomed, all the richies will jump on a ship and fuck off to a newly terraformed Mars where only the super rich can afford to live and they will neither bat an eyelash or look back.

If we have the technology to terraform a planet then this whole issue goes away, as we probably have developed means of removing carbon accumulation from the higher atmosphere.

 

[Jimrpg]

They all just have other interests at hand.

But everybody is a culprit - we'd rather buy that $1 bucket from China than the one that costs $5 from our own country. The $1 bucket that pollutes the rivers in China because the government insists on hitting economic targets.

My father in law, ever the business man says that developing countries deserve the right to do business in the way they deem necessary to remain competitive. It's just... SIGH... difference of thinking is the nicest way I can put it.

I'm living here in South East Asia at the moment, every June-October there is excessive bushfires in Indonesia to clear land for agriculture that decimates nearby countries with smog. By nearby I mean at least a couple of thousand kms away. The API index can reach 200-300+. Over 150 on the API index and the schools close here. I even bought an air filter last year as it was getting into homes. The reason they burn it down is because its faster than using machinery and machinery costs money and labour. Sometimes if its too hot, it gets out of hand and bushfires sweep everywhere. The governments are corrupt too because both Singapore and Malaysia are major shareholders in companies that do the clearing. They "filed" lawsuits last year but nothing's going to be done probably. This year there hasn't been any smog yet, and I hope it can last.

 

[Hypron]

The worst thing is people still deny it.

That 19th century one still applies to a fair number of people in 2016 sadly :/

 

[Foffy]

This is from 2012, but it needs to be seen by more people:
https://youtu.be/kx1Jxk6kjbQ?t=9s

There is a very high chance we're going for catastrophe and the first thing we think about is "How will people get to work?!?!"

Yep. We're so fucking stupid we simply think working is the most important thing in the universe.

I can totally see that nonsense being the catalyst of panic, not the actual destruction of life itself.

 

[foomfoom415]

Humans are fucked, space is our only hope and we have forsaken it for our petty issues here on the ground ...... survival of the species outweighs all.

If we can't even sort our problems on the ground, the last thing we should do is spread our problems to the stars before we get our shit together here.

 

[Orcastar]

If we can't even sort our problems on the ground, the last thing we should do is spread our problems to the stars before we get our shit together here.

If we managed to spread out into space, problems and all, we might actually survive as a species. At this rate we will not.

 

[foomfoom415]

If we managed to spread out into space, problems and all, we might actually survive as a species. At this rate we will not.

Perhaps that's better than us coming in like a wrecking ball on every planet that supports life that we manage to reach.

 

[friskykillface]

When the time comes only rich and politicians will save themselves , living on islands or cities protected by walls

The rest of us will be related to a Scape from New York scenario

Nah they will create Elysium basically since there's a risk of invaders going to their islands like everyday

 

[Craft]

Had a mild panic attack after reading this thread and had to take a walk around to calm down a little.
What can we do about this today, Send a letter to our MP?
Why isn't fixing this problem the top priority of every government in the world, and what can we do to make it?

 

[linsivvi]

Just a question, if the US and EU and most countries who care about this take said measures is that enough to prevent some of the damage this event? Or will things like China still doing what its doing just null whatever we try?

China is doing a hell lot more than the US right now:

Nuclear? Check
Invest heavily into renewable energy? Check
Carbon trading market? Check
Lower meat consumption? Check

Is that enough? Probably not, but it's a good start. Not to mention a lot of their emission is to sustain your lifestyle. If they are not doing that, some other countries will have to.

 

[Frankfurter]

I'm kind of optimistic by now that we can do this. Investments in renewables are going through the roof, growth rates are just insane when you are looking at wind and especially solar. And we still haven't reached the point where costs stop dropping for these technologies. In 10 years only fools will still invest in coal or nuclear (fission).

By know we are at a point where it simply makes economic sense to invest in renewables. It's good for the environment, it's good for the economy, it's good politically, there really is no downside. Yes, a couple quite powerful corporations will go bankrupt and they'll continue to try and lobby all they can, but ultimately they'll fail.

 

[farmerboy]

My whole thing with climate change is that it's completely irrelevant whether or not the science is right or wrong. It literally doesn't matter which "side" is correct.

It just comes down to two possible choices...

Either you do nothing about it, or you do something about it.

I mean, either scientists are right about climate change, or they're wrong, but it doesn't matter which in the end. The correct course of action regardless is to actually try doing something about it.

Think about it like this: If we do nothing, and scientists end up being wrong (would be nice), then the absolute BEST possible outcome is that things stay pretty much exactly how they are now. But, that's potentially a huge HUGE fucking risk you're taking, because if they were actually right all along, then we're fucked.

On the other hand, if we actually act like climate change is real and we actually put effort into doing something about it, then regardless of whether scientists are right or not we are still ultimately better off than if we did nothing. In other words, even if we do something about it and scientists end up being wrong and climate change isn't really a thing, we still wind up having developed better technology, end up advancing ourselves as a society and as a species, we end up saving more money individually and as a society (because more advanced energy tech typically involves things like solar/wind/fusion/nuclear--all of which tend to be a lot cheaper and more renewable than oil, gas, carbon stuff, etc), and we move likely into a new age of humanity.

So... either we do nothing, in which case we are taking a monumental risk for little or no return whatsoever (at best), or we actually do something, in which case we take very little risk, but (at worst) are pretty much guaranteed to come out way better off than we were no matter what actually ends up happening.

Pretty obvious choice to me. Of course I realize that the real problem is corporate bullshit, but this stuff only works because a huge chunk of the general population thinks the idea of climate change is bullshit. Point is, it doesn't fucking matter!

I have my doubts about climate change and its effects. I have trouble believing scientists that tell me it'll be 3.5 deg warmer in x years and then they cannot accurately tell me what the weather will be tomorrow!

But what I do believe is regardless of all that, we should be doing all we can to live cleaner, greener and ultimately more sustainable. It is our moral duty to do so and thus I completely agree with you. Our only obvious choice is to get better regardless of one's belief in climate change.

 

[Disxo]

Had a mild panic attack after reading this thread and had to take a walk around to calm down a little.
What can we do about this today, Send a letter to our MP?
Why isn't fixing this problem the top priority of every government in the world, and what can we do to make it?

We can just wait till things get more fucked up. In the meantime we'll do our best as individuals to take care of the planet.

 

[Henkka]

Well, this has been causing me anxiety all day. There was a big thread on Reddit today as well, about how it's warming faster than expected.

I wanna move to Lapland and crawl under a bed or something.

 

[GaimeGuy]

I have my doubts about climate change and its effects. I have trouble believing scientists that tell me it'll be 3.5 deg warmer in x years and then they cannot accurately tell me what the weather will be tomorrow!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_theory


Now, we do understand the greenhouse effect and how gasses like methane and Carbon Dioxide trap heat to create it. We have satellite imagery and weather balloons and other instruments which measure increases in CO2 and methane concentration in the atmosphere, and the changes do match up with human-sourced emissions.

Furthermore, the climate changes observed either match or exceed what the models predict for the given emissions (typically because political and corporate pressures result in conservative estimates).


Just because we can't predict the weather to the second like in BTTF2 doesn't mean we can't understand the consequences of heat trapping and increased greenhouse emissions.

 

[TheWraith]

China is doing a hell lot more than the US right now:

Nuclear? Check
Invest heavily into renewable energy? Check
Carbon trading market? Check
Lower meat consumption? Check

Is that enough? Probably not, but it's a good start. Not to mention a lot of their emission is to sustain your lifestyle. If they are not doing that, some other countries will have to.

Rofl, probably never been to China I assume?

 

[Neo C.]

Start by making changes in your personal life that helps the planet. Recycle, walk instead of drive, cut down on meat, eat and drink local.

Vote. Please vote. Everytime.

 

[Theonik]

Rofl, probably never been to China I assume?

To be fair to China, they are a vast country of a billion people AND they house large parts of the industry for the remaining 6. Though large parts of their population is rural and not heavily industrialised so that helps lower their per-capita sums.