This more or less sums up the consensus among scientists regarding global warming:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warmingGiven that the estimates about climate change that have been circulated through consenus are calculated conservatively, it's rather certain that we're seeing a potentially catastrophic shift in climate. HOWEVER, despite rising sea levels, huge increases in pathogen spread and concentration, loss of species and other key problems, more adaptive species probably stand a pretty good chance of survival for a while. I'm fairly concerned about problems related to food supply. One huge question will revolve around the fate of plankton. If plankton populations decrease significantly, oceans will become more polluted as populations of higher-level animals die. Another big problem could come from changes in air quality related to gas exchange, soil quality (and how much soil remains), and potential increases in microwave radiation (this is possibly less likely to occur), among other things. The problem would relate to the survival of plant life. Another problem is the survival of pollinators, which has recently become a worry, although not entirely due to problems related to climate. My concerns about food supply relate to more serious possible results of global warming, and not the results typically presented by scientists; that being said, they are predictable depending on the model and rate of climate change being considered. Plus a good horror story is always fun
Quote (IsraeliSoldier @ Thu, 19 Feb 2009, 23:33)
Global Warming is bullshit, it's an invention by Scientists to piss of people, even if there is Global warming what if there is a 2 degrees diffrence... It will be -15 instead of -17, that big deal?
It's actually good for North America it's bad for Africa.
The difference that a couple of degrees in temperature change can make has already had some drastic effects. I recall a 66 square km chunk of ice breaking off an island in Canada. Sec ... it's described in here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellesmere_IslandNot a big deal but if it's a sign of things to come, we're in trouble. My ex-girlfriend researches polar bear populations in Canada, and she says that polar bears are dying off very quickly. Not a big deal? Well, as top predator populations decline, ecosystems suffer. This is more obvious in areas of high concentrations of life, but it's a very bad sign. I'm pointing to these examples to counter the remarks about North America. Certain coastal regions are predicted to go underwater in the next century or two by various models of climate change... this would necessitate the migration of millions of human beings. The economic effects alone are rather wild. I'm still just throwing out worst-case scenario stuff here, but it's food for thought.
This post was edited by RewtheBrave on Feb 20 2009 09:10am