Posted on 04/13/2015 2:57:51 PM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
Dear EarthTalk: What is the best way to measure how close we are to the dreaded "point of no return" with climate change? In other words, when do we think we will have gone too far? — David Johnston, via EarthTalk.org
While we may not yet have reached the “point of no return” - when no amount of cutbacks on greenhouse gas emissions will save us from potentially catastrophic global warming - climate scientists warn we may be getting awfully close. Since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution a century ago, the average global temperature has risen some 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Another 0.4 degree Fahrenheit rise in temperature could set in motion unprecedented changes in global climate and a significant increase in the severity of natural disasters—and as such could represent the dreaded point of no return.
Environmental leaders point out that this doesn’t give us much time to turn the tide. Greenpeace, a leading environmental advocacy group, says we have until around 2020 to significantly cut back on greenhouse gas output around the world. “Within this time period, we will have to radically change our approach to energy production and consumption.”
“Without additional mitigation, and even with adaptation, warming by the end of the 21st century will lead to high to very high risk of severe, widespread and irreversible impacts globally,” reports the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), an international group of leading climate experts convened by the United Nations to review and assess the most recent scientific, technical and socio-economic information on global warming. Indeed, there’s no time like the present to start changing our ways.
(Excerpt) Read more at scientificamerican.com ...
They keep pushing doomsday fore ward about 5-10-15 years, hoping people will forget that they are all in it just for the money.
SIGH: Sci-American used to be a great publication back in the 60’s and very early 70’s.
Bump
Wait until people figure out that plants will thrive on a warmer world, and animals that eat them, and the animals that eat the animals that eat them.
Yes, we have gone past the point of no return. The BULLSHIT has done gone over the top of the hip waders. We’re all stinky now.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.