Not only do the shrinking icecaps raise sea levels (as if that isn’t bad enough); it also corrupts the salinity and oxygen levels in the oceans, which can lead to massive die-offs of undersea life. Plants, corals, plankton - the basis of the oceanic food chain.
AND (stop here if you’re already really worried) ancient ice melting around the world looses long-trapped greenhouse gases (like methane) into the increasingly carbon-saturated atmosphere, while reducing the planet’s ability to reflect the sun’s heat back into space, thereby causing more polar ice to melt- a dangerous and accelerating spiral.
This post was edited by Don Barzini at October 10, 2018 6:51 AM MDT
You are right. (Please stand and take a bow :)) We've been watching an learning more and more about it on the Science Channel. It is devastating and truly frightening. Thanks for your knowledgeable answer. :) :)
I think a lot of people are listening. Unfortunately, it's the ones who think this is a hoax are the ones who can do something meaningful. It hasn't helped that Trump removed us from the Paris treaty. I hope the ocean engulfs all of his golf courses - preferably while he's playing on one of them.
This post was edited by SpunkySenior at October 10, 2018 9:56 AM MDT
I’ve tried not to engage the petty behavior that seems to constantly surround all things Trump, but candidly, his coming response to this latest grim report from the UN International Panel on Climate Change WILL PROVE (at least to me!) whether he is a hopelessly irredeemable moron or not.
Let’s hope the boorish President finally grasps the real peril we’re all in.
This post was edited by Don Barzini at October 9, 2018 9:35 PM MDT
He's not going to change his mind on climate change. That would be too much like admitting he was wrong - something he is incapable of doing. He is hopelessly irredeemable.
True for governments, but big business can also play a vast role in creating positive change. And some have begun to do so. Elon Musk built the world's largest battery in South Australia to give stability to its solar electricity grid. He built it in just 100 days. BP and other oil companies having been sitting on solar technology for decades and are geared up to go into mass production at short notice. Tesla's electric car has become a status symbol popular with the wealthy, just as horseless carriages once were. Electric trucks are being developed. These are just tips of the icebergs of business. Once the momentum builds, there will be masses of new jobs in the new industries for solar, wind and solar-geothermal power, and in non-toxic batteries made from salt. That too is just a fraction of the improved technologies that will minimize waste and cause less or zero pollution. We already have most of the means to make the necessary changes possible. The businesses that start first will gain a massive advantage over the latecomers.
The only question is, will they make the changes soon enough? The latest science now says we have only 12 years in which to prevent 1.5ºC global warming. It's so tight that the time to change is NOW.
Indeed. This is the most significant issue of our time. Imagining a world that sets aside climate denial and gets to work addressing the problem may be too much for some to consider, but there is simply no valid choice left. We have already waited too long.
This post was edited by Don Barzini at October 10, 2018 6:52 AM MDT
Apart from the blatant truth of global warming and its effects everywhere - I feel sad about the Antarctic. The warming oceans will mean less krill in the Antarctic Ocean, less food for fish, seabirds, seals, penguins, and whales. I hate it that whole species who have caused no harm will suffer and die out.
Even more alarming is the coral bleaching. 90% of all sea life has its nursery in the coral reefs. When the coral dies, so too does the fish stocks many nations depend on for food. And this bleaching is happening globally now.
As the oceans acidify with dissolved CO2, the sea algae die, and they are the start of the food chain for all other seas organisms. They are already dying at an alarming rate.
And in the meantime, marine creatures die from entrapment in fishing nets and lines, and remnants of plastic rings, from ingesting plastic bits mistaken for food, and from cancers caused by pollutants.
Humanity has done this collectively, so every one of us must act collectively - each individual needs to take responsibility on every level possible. It is not OK to leave it to someone else or to use as an "excuse" that someone or some other country is not doing their bit.
The costs of not acting will be catastrophic compared to the minor disruptions of choosing to change and reorganize now.
This post was edited by inky at October 10, 2018 10:10 AM MDT
Trump Ignores The Impacts Of Climate Change At His Peril -- And Ours
2 days ago - The Trump administration says that climate change is happening and there's nothing we can do.
It’s hard to know where to start in addressing such idiocy, which flies in the face of the ample evidence of the development of renewable energy technologies and electric vehicles that are becoming ever more competitive with their fossil fuel equivalents the Trump administration has become a rogue outlier in its shortsighted attempt to prop up the dirty fossil fuel industries of the past. The administration is in direct conflict with American businesses, states, cities, and citizens leading the transformation.” - Mike Scott
https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikescott/2018/10/08/trump-ignores-the-impacts-of-climate-change-at-his-peril-and-ours/#6c4318cb2bd8
This post was edited by Beans/SilentGeneration at October 10, 2018 10:19 AM MDT
It's not the iceberg breaking up that's the problem, but the source of the ice, and if terrestrial, whether it is in the sea as result of increased thawing. Melting sea-ice won't make any difference to sea-level.
If all the ice in the world melted, my city would not be flooded. We'd all be gone long before that. A cleansing and a fresh start. Hopefully folks in the next cycle will do better.
Don Barzini 