If climate change has been happening for eons

completedit · 02-09-2020 12:31pm #1

does it matter one jot if humans cause it? We're as part of the earth as the fish in the sea, the polar ice caps, the Amazon and the endangered species. What is the goal of preventing climate change and does it matter if it happens quicker than ever? Is it specie preservation? As if somehow the natural order of the world should exist in this very precise and minuscule time span that we find ourselves in or just human's natural tendency to take domain of the earth and infer our footprint is more important than it actually is?

Is it our responsibly as conscious beings to take over guardianship of the earth?

Discuss.

quokula · 02-09-2020 12:34pm

Yes, it's species self preservation.

Humans won't die out but mass food shortages and climate driven migration will cause all kinds of turmoil across the world if we don't get a handle on it.

Harry Palmr · 02-09-2020 12:37pm

If we are causing some of it (and we are) then it indicates other problems such as atmospheric pollution, degrading of eco-systems and health of humans. Even if you are a climate sceptic you'd concede (maybe!) that burning less fossil fuel be it for plastic bags or home heating is a good idea.

Think of crashing ice glaciers as the canary in the coalmine for a host of other problems.

completedit · 02-09-2020 12:42pm

Of course, tbh, I spoke to someone who seems to think we're overpopulated and that climate change activism exists to solely preserve the great barrier reef and some fish in the ocean rather than to mitigate against the raft of societal problems that will be born out if some of the projections come to pass.

touts · 02-09-2020 12:48pm

Humans have arisen and thrived in a fairly narrow window in an otherwise fairly harsh climate on this planet. Times of extreme cold and times of stiffling heat. Not enough to eradicate life but just enough to keep it limited. We're lucky in our timing. So what do we do. We shorten the window significantly by accelerating the race from the last ice age to the next period of stiffling heat. Now instead of a window with thousands of years left in it we have just a few decades.

Earthhorse · 02-09-2020 12:59pm

It matters because the rate at which we've accelerated it is going to cause us serious problems. It's as simple as that really. All arguments to the contrary will eventually be borne out as falsehoods and it'll be too late to fix it then.

Atlantic Dawn · 02-09-2020 1:04pm

With the current level of population growth in the developing world it's impossible to reduce current emissions at a global level if they had anything to do with global warming global cooling a grand summer climate change. 1 child families should be encouraged.

brevity · 02-09-2020 1:07pm

completedit wrote: »

does it matter one jot if humans cause it? We're as part of the earth as the fish in the sea, the polar ice caps, the Amazon and the endangered species. What is the goal of preventing climate change and does it matter if it happens quicker than ever? Is it specie preservation? As if somehow the natural order of the world should exist in this very precise and minuscule time span that we find ourselves in or just human's natural tendency to take domain of the earth and infer our footprint is more important than it actually is?

Is it our responsibly as conscious beings to take over guardianship of the earth?

Discuss.

I mean the earth will continue no matter what we do, it’s wether or not it will be a nice place to live in in the future is the question

cnocbui · 02-09-2020 1:19pm

touts wrote: »

Humans have arisen and thrived in a fairly narrow window in an otherwise fairly harsh climate on this planet. Times of extreme cold and times of stiffling heat. Not enough to eradicate life but just enough to keep it limited. We're lucky in our timing. So what do we do. We shorten the window significantly by accelerating the race from the last ice age to the next period of stiffling heat. Now instead of a window with thousands of years left in it we have just a few decades.

Can you tell me where this information on 'limited' life on a hotter planet is coming from please?

The oil and coal we make use of today was laid down due to a massive abundance of plant life on Earth, not a scarcity. During the first half of the Carboniferous period, the average global temperature was 19-20° C, and CO2 levels started out at 4-5 times higher than they are now.

Not surprising, really, when you understand that the chemical process of photosynthesis has an optimum temperature of 28-30° C and the more CO2, the better!

The Jurrasic period was off the charts - you know, when the planet was so inhospitable to life we had dinosaurs bigger than houses - with a global average temperature of 22° C and CO2 levels 5 times higher than current levels.

The global average temperature was 13.7° C during the 20th century.

The unpalatable truth for climate hysterics is that life on Earth absolutely thrives and goes near berserk when there is vastly more atmospheric CO2 and the blobal average temperature is 20° C or higher.

Apparently a 1° C rise in global temperature will be catastrophic and wipe out humanity and all life on Earth and the Earth will experience a runaway Greenhouse situation and the Earth will become a new Venus with surface temperatures of 400° C. :rolleyes:

Gregor Samsa · 02-09-2020 1:21pm

cnocbui wrote: »

Apparently a 1° C rise in global temperature will be catastrophic and wipe out humanity and all life on Earth and the Earth will experience a runaway Greenhouse situation and the Earth will become a new Venus with surface temperatures of 400° C. :rolleyes:

Absolutely nobody of any credibility of any kind is claiming that.

Capt'n Midnight · 02-09-2020 8:59pm

An eon is a billion years.

Over that time our climate has changed a tad.

Oxygen in air is a recent thing.

Ga = Eon , If the P O2 goes below 0.1 you won't brain well and have a serious attack of the dumb.

Snowball Earth refers to times when the climate was colder than now. Way colder.

Capt'n Midnight · 02-09-2020 9:01pm

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

1 child families should be encouraged.

I think we should passover that one.

biko · 02-09-2020 9:59pm

I say go for it, let's wipe the humans off this planet.

cnocbui · 02-09-2020 10:15pm

Gregor Samsa wrote: »

Absolutely nobody of any credibility of any kind is claiming that.

Of course they aren't.

New Report Suggests ‘High Likelihood of Human Civilization Coming to an End’ Starting in 2050

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/597kpd/new-report-suggests-high-likelihood-of-human-civilization-coming-to-an-end-in-2050

cnocbui · 02-09-2020 10:28pm

biko wrote: »

I say go for it, let's wipe the humans off this planet.

They won't be wiped out, they will just evolve into Australians.

Capt'n Midnight · 02-09-2020 10:43pm

The numbers show that sea level rises were slowed by building lots of hydroelectric dams

A warming climate will lead to two events that will increase greenhouse gas levels a lot. Melting of the permafrost and release of methane hydrates when the coastal seas warm up.

And there is no going back , both are step changes that will trigger the other.

It's getting to the point where we will need to grind up bedrock to power and disperse it to accumulate Carbon Dioxide and or inject sulphur dioxide into the upper atmosphere. Both are megaprojects and aren't remotely cheap.

Potential-Monke · 03-09-2020 1:39am

Is there anything to be said for a few industrial air conditioning units up the north and south, point them at the ice and keep them cool enough not to melt. I don't even have smarts and there's the melting ice caps sorted! Would even create some jobs!

If climate change has been happening for eons

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