We need war-like mobilisation against Global Warming

[Jovial Monk]

Interesting article in the Crikey "Rooted" blog:

http://blogs.crikey.com.au/rooted/2009/ ... it-moment/

Schellnhuber and his WBGU colleagues’ study states that the United States must cut emissions 100 percent by 2020. Yep, that means quit carbon completely within ten years. Germany, Italy and other industrial nations must do the same by 2025 to 2030. China only has until 2035.

The world as a whole must be carbon-free by 2050.

This kind of timetable is lightyears from what the IPCC is proposing, and failing to get agreement on.

But even this “brutal” timeline of the WBGU study, Schellnhuber admitted, wouldn’t guarantee staying within the 2C target. It would merely give humanity a two-out-of-three chance of doing so–”worse odds than Russian roulette …But it is the best we can do.”

To have a three-out-of-four chance, countries would have to quit carbon even sooner.

“I myself was terrified when I saw these numbers,” Schellnhuber said. Hans’ suggestion to push past that rising “Oh Shit” feeling and avert paralysis? “War-time mobilisation.”

Schellnhuber is a chaos theory physicist and is part of an advisory body advising the German Chancelor.

Exaggerated? The Greenland ice sheet is still melting at an accelerating rate, killing the Gulf Stream which will make the UK barely habitable with extremely severe winters. (The last winter in the UK was extremely cold and some idiots took that as a sign global warming wasn't happening )

So, what is your "Oh shit! moment re climate change?

[JWFrogen]

I am fighting for the Global Warming insurgency.

I want 35% in July.

[Jovial Monk]

The Fibs are holding their auto de fe tomorrow. Who will be burned at the stake, Truffles or the Mad Uncle?

[slimD]

So what's new? It's not like it hasn't happened before, (and many times at that), and it will happen again. Like i've said before, mother earth is going to give us another ice age, whether we want it or not. And we're due for one: 10,000 years must be getting close since the last one.

[Jovial Monk]

Ice Age? Ice age?

Man, the Arctic ice is melting more and more each summer, and Antartica is starting to follow suit.

[annielaurie]

I agree, and I believe exactly as you and Slim are saying, the planet could be due for a swing toward another ice age presently ...

And the current rapid rise in overall temps could affect the Gulf Stream, which would then cause an overall reverse toward cooling ...

Next hundred years? too bad I won't be here then, I would like to see what happens ...

[Jovial Monk]

No, the last Ice Age was only like 15,000 years ago and they follow a 120,000 year cycle (to do with variations in earths orbit.)

The abundant, profligate release of CO2, methane & nitrous oxides is creating a green house effect, leading to the globe warming up. That warming up is melting Arctic & Greenland ice and the meltwater from that is playing havoc with the Gulf Stream leading to England suffering ever more severe winters. This last is an observable effect of AGW.

[annielaurie]

Oooooh, 120,000 years! Yes you have explained it well, Jm ...

So do the real facts indicate that the warming trend will go on for hundreds of years? - will there also be increased severity of storms, sea levels rising in coastal areas, micro-climate fluctuations, grasslands turning to desert inland? - acceleration of micro-evolution in animal species, in order to adapt? - already we are seeing bizarre animal behavior, and wild animals approaching the city limits, looking for food and water ...

Will the earth eventually become unlivable for plant and animal species - including us - before it starts to turn colder again? This is getting damn scary, you know ...

[Jovial Monk]

We are getting very close to the tipping point which IIRC is 450ppm CO2 equivalent in the atmosphere. Currently it is 375mm (again, IIRC, haven't checked those figures.) Once past tipping point nothing we can do will make any difference. Warming of Arctic tundra is going to release HUGE amounts of methane and methane is a more deadly gas than CO2.

Possibly even more urgent is ocean acidification: this makes formation of exoskeletons by coral, phytoplankton and the like more difficult because as the water gets more acid it becomes more and more difficult to secrete carbonates.

Ocean levels are increasing to the the water warming up (plus melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet.) Australia certainly is drying up.

[annielaurie]

Scary as hell!

Many people don't believe it's happening, others do but they don't give a damn, and frankly I don't see how starting to "go green" at this late date is going to do enough to even make a dent in the situation ...

We are dealing with the titanic forces of a planet ... oceans and atmosphere gone rampant ... chaos everywhere ...