Quote:
Originally Posted by doppler
The dinosaurs and rain forests were doing ok for a few millennia before it cooled down too much (the ice age?)
My question is : is climate change life threatening or just an economic inconvenience?
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Depends on the extent. There is some "wiggle room" in which some systems and species can adapt but beyond that we get systemic collapse of ecology, change of natural systems like weather cycles, rainfall patterns, growing seasonss. Loss of many, many species. Anything listed as Vulnerable will probably go.
From a human perspective, think about the redistribution of agricultural areas and massive drop in production, unpredictable and violent climate, changed rainfall patterns. etc. On a catastrophic level, the Monsoon may fail completely, ocean level rise will cause flooding of many cities, such as London,, acidification and subsequent collapse of oceanic ecology. Possible changes to ocean currents including the Gulf Stream.
The one that worries me a hell of a lot is the thawing of the permafrost across Siberia. If that happens, Carbon Dioxide wont be the issue, Methane will make that look like a minor blip.
Before the worst of it though will come the human response to shortage of resources, war, disease, famine. History is resplendent with examples.
Unfortunately, the list of possible consequences is long and not well understood but the very possibility of any of this happening should be enough to scare the bejesus out of everyone, Still the num-nuts stick their heads in the sand and say "It just isn't so"...
