1. The Greenland Ice Sheet reached a tipping point 20 years ago
2. The temperature tipping point of the terrestrial biosphere lies within the next 20 to 30 years
3. 50% of all species may be vulnerable to thermal infertility due to climate change
4. We can still act
1. “I think it’s very important to emphasize that this loss of the ice sheet is not irreversible. We’ve witnessed a step-change that is unlikely to be reversible in the near future.." news.climate.columbia.edu/2020/09/02/gre…
The temperature tipping point of the terrestrial biosphere lies not at the end of the century or beyond, but within the next 20 to 30 years' advances.sciencemag.org/content/7/3/ea…
'The findings challenge the possibility of limiting warming to 1.5 or 2 degrees Celsius.
“In fact, it calls into question the assumption that the climate would even be stable at those levels of warming if all human greenhouse gas emissions were to cease'insideclimatenews.org/news/13012021/…
'Evidence of declining fertility in humans and wildlife is growing. While chemicals in our environment have been identified as a major cause, our new research shows there's another looming threat to animal fertility: climate change.' msn.com/en-nz/news/wor…
'temperature-driven fertility losses may be a major threat to biodiversity during climate change.. perhaps half of all species will be vulnerable to thermal infertility.'
1. makes the tropics hard to live in or uninhabitable 2. risks Antarctic sea level rise horror in decades 3. wrecks rainforests if combined with deforestation 4. puts Arctic sea ice on road to ruin 5. endangers global food security 6. threatens unstoppable feedbacks
News?
surpassing the 1.5°C threshold will represent a threat to global food security'
The global economic system is waging a war on nature.
'And this is just what we already know about. Researchers say there are huge gaps in our knowledge of plants, and more work is needed to assess the conservation status of more species.'
Is the message from scientists "we need zero emissions by 2028 or so because of feedbacks and then climate change must be reversed somehow but geoengineering presents a danger to all life on Earth and carbon-sucking technology at scale is a fantasy"?
Love,
Ben
“If rapid emission reductions are initiated soon, it is still possible that at least a large fraction of required CO2 extraction can be achieved via relatively natural agricultural and forestry practices with other benefits,” the authors wrote.
“On the other hand, if large fossil fuel emissions are allowed to continue, the scale and cost of industrial CO2 extraction, occurring in conjunction with a deteriorating climate with growing economic effects, may become unmanageable."
What newspapers still won't scream about is when Earth system feedbacks like thawing permafrost are taken into account, emissions must be slashed to zero in the 2020s for any hope of a reasonable chance of staying below potentially totally catastrophic levels of global warming.
1.
Carbon 'budgets' for horrific 1.5-1.9°C of global warming are either tiny or non-existent according to climate scientists (nature.com/articles/s4324…) rven without the latest science on Arctic feedback loops being taken into account.
⬇️ eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2…
2.
'The tropics could become uninhabitable if we don’t limit global warming to less than 1.5°C.'
Above this, the equatorial region, which is home to around 43% of the world’s population, could see air temperatures increase beyond what humans can stand.
'Germany's coal exit plan [by 2038] falls far short of environmental recommendations. According to estimates, the European Union needs to phase out coal by 2030 to meet the 1.5C target of the Paris Agreement'
1. The tropics contain over 75% of all Earth's species
2. Scientists expect 1.5°C of global warming by 2030
3. Deforestation, mining, road building & pesticides also threaten the tropics
It will never be too late to try to limit the damage & protect everybody.
How many people now strongly suspect capitalism is a threat not just to organised human society but to all species?
Scientists expect 1.5°C by 2026-2032, but with emergency, climate justice, degrowth, economic-system-change action it could yet be delayed.newscientist.com/article/227035…
'The tropics contain.. more than three-quarters of all species.. actions are urgently required to prevent a collapse of tropical biodiversity'.