As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Climate Change

We May Have Only Thirty Years Until the End of Civilization

by
apocalypse - pixabay

It seems every week there’s a scary new report about how man-made climate change is going to cause the collapse of the world’s ice sheets, result in the extinction of up to 1 million animal species and — if that wasn’t bad enough — make our beer very, very expensive. This week, a new policy paper from an Australian think tank claims that those other reports are slightly off; the risks of climate change are actually much, much worse than anyone can imagine. According to the paper, climate change poses a “near- to mid-term existential threat to human civilization,” and … Read more

A Quarter of West Antarctic Ice Might Collapse – Live Science

by

Glaciers and ice sheets in Antarctica have thinned and weakened dramatically over the past quarter-century, leaving 24% of the ice in the western part of the continent seriously weakened and in danger of collapse. In some places on Antarctica, glaciers have thinned by approximately 400 feet (122 meters). This staggering loss has little to do with weather fluctuations; rather, it unfolded over decades as Earth’s climate warmed, scientists reported in a new study. And that ice loss is accelerating. The researchers found that West Antarctica’s two biggest glaciers — Thwaites and Pine Island — are melting away five times faster … Read more

CO2 reaches Levels Last Seen Before Humankind Evolved

by
pollution - Live Science

There is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than there has been for 800,000 years — since before our species evolved. On Saturday (May 11), the levels of the greenhouse gas reached 415 parts per million (ppm), as measured by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii. Scientists at the observatory have been measuring atmospheric carbon dioxide levels since 1958. But because of other kinds of analysis, such as those done on ancient air bubbles trapped in ice cores, they have data on levels reaching back 800,000 years. During the ice ages, carbon dioxide levels in … Read more

CLIMATE CHANGE: Bill Nye Drops the F-Bomb

by

During his appearance on HBO’s “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” on Sunday (May 12), Nye used frank language to talk to millennials about the impacts of global warming on Earth. (Nye’s comments are heavily edited here for language; viewer discretion is advised if you watch the video.) “By the end of this century, if temperatures keep rising, the average temperature on Earth could go up another 4 to 8 degrees,” Nye said to Oliver. (Nye was referring to degrees Celsius; the equivalent change in Fahrenheit is roughly 7 to 14 degrees). “What I’m saying is, the planet’s on [expletive] … Read more

U=(N/T)M*G: Hexagon

by

Floating cities. When I first saw the phrase, I was thinking something more space-like. Great, domed orbital platforms nestled in the yellowish hue of Venus’ atmosphere. Maybe serenely sitting above the great storms of Jupiter or Saturn. A way of living off in the middle distance of the future. These cities are reality on the cusp of fruition, but not in the clouds of our gas giants or even in orbit around our own planet. Think a little closer to the ground. Or water, as it were. A group of innovators have presented the U.N. Habitat Council with a plausible, … Read more

Humans Cause Most Dramatic Climate Change in 3 Million Years

by
glacier - pixabay

The level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today is likely higher than it has been anytime in the past 3 million years. This rise in the level of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, could bring temperatures not seen over that entire timespan, according to new research. The study researchers used computer modeling to examine the changes in climate during the Quaternary period, which started around 2.59 million years ago and continues into today. Over that period, Earth has undergone a number of changes, but none so rapid as those seen today, said study author Matteo Willeit, a postdoctoral climate … Read more

SCIENCE: How The World Ends Version Three

by

A new study published in the journal Biological Conservation described as “a comprehensive review of 73 historical reports of insect declines from across the globe” makes a grim prediction: “dramatic rates of decline that may lead to the extinction of 40% of the world’s insect species over the next few decades.” Insects could completely disappear from the Earth within 100 years if they continue to decline at current rates, The Guardian notes: “More than 40% of insect species are declining and a third are endangered, the analysis found. The rate of extinction is eight times faster than that of mammals, … Read more

Climate Change to Kill a Quarter Million a Year

by
climate change - pixabay

In the coming decades, more than a quarter-million people may die each year as a result of climate change, according to a new review study. In 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that climate change would lead to about 250,000 additional deaths each year between 2030 and 2050, from factors such as malnutrition, heat stress and malaria. But the new review, published Jan. 17 in The New England Journal of Medicine, said this is a “conservative estimate.” That’s because it fails to take into account other climate-related factors that could affect death rates — such as population displacement and … Read more