Scary article to the extreme

[icarus]

I think that suggesting that "most marine species" won't survive may be a bit extreme, but that is sort of beside the point. Regardless of reality of that statement, the feedback loop potential, between methane releases from permafrost, coupled with ocean acidification is a very real, and very scary issue (most especially since Meghan is a much more robust GHG).

Ithe net, without taking a "political" stance it is pretty easy to understand. You can't add insulation to your house, and not turn heater down and not have it warm up. Folks tend to be pretty local-centric, and have a hard time seeing the earth a a much smaller place than it seems to be. I suggest that folks spend some time in the high and sub arctic to get a real feel for the change that is happening around us. The predictions of increased warming in high latitudes is coming true. The effect at higher latitudes is exacerbated. A couple degrees of rise in Kansas may have its own set of devastating effects, but when you are dealing with the margins of freezing ice and permafrost, those couple of degrees is huge.

Note as a moderator. I am fine with this conversation, as long as we can keep it civil and on topic. If (when) it begins to veer off to nastiness or name calling etc, we will shut it down. There are plenty of other places on the web to scream and yell. This is no one of them.

Tony

[bill von novak]

Exactly. At the current trajectory,we will soon pass a threshold where positive feedback cycles will accelerate the rate of warming (e.g. warming leads to increased arctic methane release which leads to faster warming .... etc).

That's definitely a possibility. So is the possibility of negative feedback - increased evaporation due to to higher temps leads to greater daytime cloud formation, which reduces the rate of temperature rise (for example.) It is due to such uncertainties that the IPCC predictions have such wide error bands.

While the planet may have been much warmer in the past, with few exceptions the current flora and fauna were not present then.

Agreed; different flora and fauna were present, better adapted to warmer climates. Any significant climactic change causes fairly rapid evolution as old species die out and new species evolve to fill the same niches. (Note that this is not something we should be aiming for; on the other hand, it's how we got here to begin with.)

[bill von novak]

I suggest that folks spend some time in the high and sub arctic to get a real feel for the change that is happening around us. The predictions of increased warming in high latitudes is coming true. The effect at higher latitudes is exacerbated. A couple degrees of rise in Kansas may have its own set of devastating effects, but when you are dealing with the margins of freezing ice and permafrost, those couple of degrees is huge.

Agreed. We were up in Barrow, Alaska years ago and they were losing land at an alarming rate. They used to have ice covering their shore most of the year - and now they are ice free most of the year, so they have no protection against storm-driven waves.

[techntrek]

...Regardless of reality of that statement, the feedback loop potential, between methane releases from permafrost, coupled with ocean acidification is a very real, and very scary issue (most especially since Meghan is a much more robust GHG).

Whoa. Remind me to stay away from HER! Especially on baked bean night.

[mtdoc]

So is the possibility of negative feedback - increased evaporation due to to higher temps leads to greater daytime cloud formation

Oh crap, You mean I might have to buy MORE solar panels...

[icarus]

Clearly you have never met Meagan!

Tony

[marsofold]

There is no arguing that 1/3 of the north pole has gone away in the last 30 years. The photos are on NASA's website and it is simply not credible that they are involved with deceiving the public on the issue. So it should be considered to be a fact by all honorable persons. If such a major change on a planetary scale means nothing to someone, then that is all I need to know about that person...

[inetdog]

There is no arguing that 1/3 of the north pole has gone away in the last 30 years.

I sure hope we are only missing the polar ice cap....