Global Climate Change

[ArgoZ]

God will come back and heal the world just ask Harper. hahahaha.

We can't rule out the possibility. The dinosaurs were wiped out, who's to say we are not next? I previously commented how our species are only a blip on the Earth's 4.5 billion year history. For all we know the earth's climate, could have changed thousands of times in each direction.

[jerrym]

We can't rule out the possibility. The dinosaurs were wiped out, who's to say we are not next? I previously commented how our species are only a blip on the Earth's 4.5 billion year history. For all we know the earth's climate, could have changed thousands of times in each direction.

It's impossible to correctly predict the future weather of the planet, because we have only been recording/monitoring it since the 20's I believe. The bible says there will be increased earthquakes in the end days. If your not religious, what science do you go by? Scientific theories always seem to be debunked by new science. The Earth is supposably over 5 billions of years old. We are only a blimp in its existence and do not completely know it's cycles, the way it reacts or heals itself. It's unfortunate, but almost every study or survey is full of propaganda and hidden motives, which is often financial.

In school, I remember we were heading for another ice age. Now, they claim we are going to get torched. One fact I found interesting is that while the North Pole has melted considerably, Antarctica has actually increased! Figure that one out.

There have been six major extinctions in the last half billion years. We are in the Sixth Extinction. What makes this one different is that the extinction rate is now 1,000 times that of the fossil record.

University of Georgia ecologists John Gittleman and Patrick Stephens are contributors to a major new study that finds that species are going extinct today 1,000 times faster than during pre-human times—a rate an order of magnitude higher than the previous estimate. The study, which was led by Jurriaan M. de Vos of Brown University, appears in the journal Conservation Biology.
The researchers were able to establish the faster current extinction rate by pinning down a more accurate pre-human, or background, rate, explaining that estimating recent rates is straightforward, but establishing a background rate for comparison is not.
They found that the background rate of extinction was slower before humans existed by comparing the number of species that died out with the number of new species that emerged. The researchers calculated that the background rate of extinction was 0.1 extinctions per million species years-meaning that one out of every 10 million species on Earth became extinct each year during that time.

http://news.uga.edu/releases/article...an-times-0914/

Paul Crutzen, the Nobel Prize winner who discovering the harmful effects of chemicals such as refrigerants that were destroying the ozone layer that protects life from too much otherwise deadly UV sunrays, calls the Sixth Extinction the Anthropocene Period , which indicates that humankind is extinction's principal driving force behind it because
- human activity has transformed up to one half of the natural habitats of the land on Earth
- most of the Earth's rivers have been dammed or diverted
- fisheries have removed more than a third of biomass from the ocean
- humans use more than one half of the Earth's freshwater
- and most importantly, humans have greatly altered the composition of the atmosphere through fossil fuel combustion and deforestation

Our planet is now in the midst of its sixth mass extinction of plants and animals — the sixth wave of extinctions in the past half-billion years. We’re currently experiencing the worst spate of species die-offs since the loss of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Although extinction is a natural phenomenon, it occurs at a natural “background” rate of about one to five species per year. Scientists estimate we’re now losing species at 1,000 to 10,000 times the background rate, with literally dozens going extinct every day [1]. It could be a scary future indeed, with as many as 30 to 50 percent of all species possibly heading toward extinction by mid-century [2].

Unlike past mass extinctions, caused by events like asteroid strikes, volcanic eruptions, and natural climate shifts, the current crisis is almost entirely caused by us — humans. In fact, 99 percent of currently threatened species are at risk from human activities, primarily those driving habitat loss, introduction of exotic species, and global warming [3]. Because the rate of change in our biosphere is increasing, and because every species’ extinction potentially leads to the extinction of others bound to that species in a complex ecological web, numbers of extinctions are likely to snowball in the coming decades as ecosystems unravel. ...

AMPHIBIANS
No group of animals has a higher rate of endangerment than amphibians. Scientists estimate that a third or more of all the roughly 6,300 known species of amphibians are at risk of extinction [6]. The current amphibian extinction rate may range from 25,039 to 45,474 times the background extinction rate [7]. ...

BIRDS ...
A 2009 report on the state of birds in the United States found that 251 (31 percent) of the 800 species in the country are of conservation concern [8]. Globally, BirdLife International estimates that 12 percent of known 9,865 bird species are now considered threatened, with 192 species, or 2 percent, facing an “extremely high risk” of extinction in the wild — two more species than in 2008. Habitat loss and degradation have caused most of the bird declines, but the impacts of invasive species and capture by collectors play a big role, too.

FISH
Increasing demand for water, the damming of rivers throughout the world, the dumping and accumulation of various pollutants, and invasive species make aquatic ecosystems some of the most threatened on the planet; thus, it’s not surprising that there are many fish species that are endangered in both freshwater and marine habitats.
The American Fisheries Society identified 700 species of freshwater or anadromous fish in North America as being imperiled, amounting to 39 percent of all such fish on the continent [9]. In North American marine waters. ...

INVERTEBRATES
Invertebrates, from butterflies to mollusks to earthworms to corals, are vastly diverse — and though no one knows just how many invertebrate species exist, they’re estimated to account for about 97 percent of the total species of animals on Earth [10]. Of the 1.3 million known invertebrate species, the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has evaluated about 9,526 species, with about 30 percent of the species evaluated at risk of extinction. ...

MAMMALS ...
almost 50 percent of the world’s primate species are at risk of extinction. Overall, the IUCN estimates that half the globe’s 5,491 known mammals are declining in population and a fifth are clearly at risk of disappearing forever ...

PLANTS ...
Of the more than 300,000 known species of plants, the IUCN has evaluated only 12,914 species, finding that about 68 percent of evaluated plant species are threatened with extinction.

REPTILES
Globally, 21 percent of the total evaluated reptiles in the world are deemed endangered or vulnerable to extinction by the IUCN ...

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/biodiversity/elements_of_biodiversity/extinction_crisis/

In the words of Pogo "We have seen the enemy, and it us." We need to change and change now.

[1argoholic]

I won't go on about my views on religion. Let me just say that don't hold your breath if you believe that some god will fix earth.

[ArgoZ]

I won't go on about my views on religion. Let me just say that don't hold your breath if you believe that some god will fix earth.

No need to discuss religious views, but we can't deny the possibility of an extinction level event like JerryM mentioned. Whether it is caused by a supreme deity or otherwise, it's not something I would look forward to. Although, it seems that would fix the planet though wouldn't it? 😳

[jerrym]

Last month, 196 countries signed an agreement to attempt to keep temperature rise to below 1.5 degrees Celsius and to stop it from rising by 2 degrees. There was a lot of celebration that unlike Kyoto, nearly all countries have agreed to this. However major problems remain.

COP 21 Paris Climate Summit Danger

A Weak Agreement Could Delay Strong Action Until It’s Too Late

(Disclosure: the author and colleagues support strong action to stop climate change.)

The Paris Agreement

• All 196 countries signed — even OPEC and Russia.
• It contains NO mechanism to make it binding.
• Figueres has declared that all pledges are just self-interest.
• And she says emphatically, they are “not to save the planet.”
  • (code words for, “do not take the climate into account”)
• The 2°C goal is disconnected from any proposed mechanism.

Any one of these points is enough to make it clear that almost nothing was achieved. Nevertheless the agreement has some good points:

• It isolates US Republicans and makes them slightly less powerful.
• It got the US and China talking about climate.
• It got people’s hopes us with talk of 2°C, so when these hopes are dashed, people will get upset and perhaps will do something.
• It got countries to think about climate change for a while.

But the enormous over-statement of its achievement will continue to undermine (obliterate?) any sense of urgency for years to come. Also the “rule” that countries must increase ambition every five years will cause countries to backpedal and water-down their next pledge as much as possible to leave room for future improvement. ...

Has COP21 found the magic bullet? So they are saying, but consider this:

1. Current pledges leave us much worse off in 2030.
2. China only pledged what it was going to do anyway.
3. UN climate chief says pledges are just “economic self-interest” (greed), and they are not about saving the planet (the climate).

Something’s a bit off, so we’ll take this step by step.Step 1. If pledges work perfectly, they make all 2°C scenarios impossible.

More about this graph based on UN data.

What’s going on? The black line shows global CO2 emissions, including China’s CO2burst from 2002 until about 2011. The green line shows the UN’s most optimistic prediction for the Paris pledges. This is less steep mainly because China is ending its CO2burst to avoid killer smog in its cities. But CO2 emissions continue to increase through the end of the pledges in 2030. The red line shows what’s required to stay under 2°C, given the situation in 2030.
Climate science estimates that to have a 66% chance of warming less than 2°C, we must emit less than 1000 more gigatons of CO2 after 2011. By their end in 2030, the UN says the pledges would use up at least 723 Gt of that and would increase emissions to 40 Gt per year. At that rate, the rest of the CO2 budget would be gone in seven years. MIT estimates that pledges won’t be perfect, and so five years is more likely.
Impossible. The graph shows us reducing the rate of emissions before we run out, so then we would have 14 years before the world had to completely stop CO2 emissions. This would be impossible now, and after 15 more years of building new coal plants in China and India and more cars everywhere, it will be beyond impossible.

http://climateparis.org

[Double Dare]

No need to discuss religious views, but we can't deny the possibility of an extinction level event like JerryM mentioned. Whether it is caused by a supreme deity or otherwise, it's not something I would look forward to.

Don't worry, it will be such a "slow burn", we will all be dust well before it hits the end of it's cycle. Not that I want it to happen, I consider myself an environmentalist.

[1argoholic]

We have climate change here daily. Today it's F ing cold. Tomorrow it will be a wee bit less F ing cold.
I don't believe in any GODs. Too way out there and far fetched for me. I got my arse dragged to an anglican church as a kid and it was the worst times in my life. Who came up with this babbling bunch of BS.

I could write some crap, bury it to be found in 100 years and people would believe that I was some sort of prophet.

[AngeloV]

I got my arse dragged to an anglican church as a kid and it was the worst times in my life.

Just be glad it wasn't a Greek Orthadox church. Longest most boring service ever.

[gilthethrill]

Just be glad it wasn't a Greek Orthadox church. Longest most boring service ever.

Was that the same religion that George Costanza converted to because he liked a woman?

[R.J]

Just be glad it wasn't a Greek Orthadox church. Longest most boring service ever.

Looked pretty entertaining in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding".

[Will]

Was that the same religion that George Costanza converted to because he liked a woman?

That was Latvian Orthodox

Priest:	Why do you want to accept the Latvian Orthodox faith?
George:	Ahem... In this age of uncertainty and confusion, a man begins to ask himself certain questions. How can one even begin to put into words something so um… (trying to think of a word)
Priest:	Enigmatic?
George:	No.
Priest:	Vast? (he pronounces it as "vahst")
George:	No not vast (he imitates and pronounces it as "vahst")
Priest:	Well whatever it is, basically you like the religion.
George:	Yes.
Priest 2:	Is there one aspect of the faith that you find particularly attractive?
George:	(pauses) I think the hats. The hat convey that solemn religious look you want in a faith. Very pious.
Priest:	Are you familiar with Orthodox theology?
George:	Well perhaps, not to the extent that you are. But I know the basic plot. Yeah.
Priest:	Plot?
George:	Yeah, yeah. You know the uh flood, and the uh lepers, and the commandments and all that.
Priest 2:	Well it’s obvious that you are sincere in your desire.
George:	Oh yes I am Father. Incredibly sincere. So, uh, pffft, am I in?
Priest:	The first step would be to familiarize yourself with these texts (brings out a pile of books).
George:	Ah hah. You see Father, I’m I’m incredibly anxious to become a member. Um, don’t you offer any kind of an express conversion? A quick change?

[jerrym]

Today it was announced that 2015 was the warmest year on record globally, breaking the record set by 2014 with the largest increase ever. Fifteen of the sixteen years since 2000 are the warmest years globally ever. Is there a message in this data?
No doubt the deniers will continue with their usual parade of excuses.

Blistering heat blanketed the Earth last year like never before, making 2015 by far the hottest year in modern times and raising new concerns about the accelerating pace of climate change.
Not only was 2015 the warmest worldwide since 1880, it shattered the previous record held in 2014 by the widest margin ever observed, said the report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
"During 2015, the average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 1.62 Fahrenheit (0.90 Celsius) above the 20th century average," said the NOAA report.
"This was the highest among all years in the 1880-2015 record," it added.
"This is also the largest margin by which the annual global temperature record has been broken."

http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/...ord/ar-BBotP1U

[1argoholic]

Run that by the religious right and see what they think. Glad I'm old enough and not a kid.

[AngeloV]

Looked pretty entertaining in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding".

Totally different. Just brings back painful memories to my childhood thinking about it.

So boring....and my parents went to an old style church, which meant all the men on one side and the women on the other. They only had a few pews on the side for older people to sit on, and everyone else stands for the entire service. Ugh!!

[gilthethrill]

Totally different. Just brings back painful memories to my childhood thinking about it.

So boring....and my parents went to an old style church, which meant all the men on one side and the women on the other. They only had a few pews on the side for older people to sit on, and everyone else stands for the entire service. Ugh!!

I grew up Catholic....not a lot of fun at Mass there either!

[Will]

I grew up Catholic....not a lot of fun at Mass there either!

Try synagogue for three hours--mind you I wasn't dragged there every Saturday (only High Holidays), but the service goes on for days in a language you can't understand. Then there are people like my grandfather who are able to stomach it every Saturday.

[gilthethrill]

Try synagogue for three hours--mind you I wasn't dragged there every Saturday (only High Holidays), but the service goes on for days in a language you can't understand. Then there are people like my grandfather who are able to stomach it every Saturday.

LOL!! Your grandfather is a tough man!

[1argoholic]

Only line I remember Reverend Candy going on about every week was The Father, The Son and the Holy Ghost. I thought that was a 70's sitcom.
Now the only Rev I listen to is The Reverend Horton Heat, killer Rockabilly.

My grandfather used to take transit from Mississauga to some Russian Orthodox church in Toronto every Sunday. The best thing about that was he used to bring me these great Russian Buns called Pirozhki.Filled with ground beef, salt, pepper and dill in a yeast raised killer bun. I hadn't had them since I was about 14 and I looked up recipes on line about six years ago and talked my wife into attempting them. I danced around the kitchen like a tool when the first one hit the oil. I knew she nailed them. She makes them once a year now.

[jerrym]

I also grew up Catholic. All I remember of the priest's sermons, is his weekly long list of demands for money for church needs. He often compared the per capita church donations to the average amount of money Canadians spent on alcohol (alcohol won by some incredible amount). I wonder if these long sermons drove some parishioners to drink.
To be fair, the Catholic Church, unlike some others, actually bothers to look at the evidence of global warming and the Pope has released an encyclical stating this is the world's number one problem.

• The Pope has warned of an “unprecedented destruction of ecosystems” and “serious consequences for all of us” if humanity fails to act on climate change, in his encyclical on the environment, published by the Vatican on Thursday.
• Senior Catholic figures in the US and UK have said the Pope’s central message is: what sort of world do we want to leave for future generations?
• The UN secretary general, the World Bank president, plus the heads of the UN climate talks and the UN environment programme have all welcomed the encyclical, along with scores of charities and faith groups.
• The Pope has warned of an “unprecedented destruction of ecosystems” and “serious consequences for all of us” if humanity fails to act on climate change, in his encyclical on the environment, published by the Vatican on Thursday.
• Senior Catholic figures in the US and UK have said the Pope’s central message is: what sort of world do we want to leave for future generations?
• The UN secretary general, the World Bank president, plus the heads of the UN climate talks and the UN environment programme have all welcomed the encyclical, along with scores of charities and faith groups.

http://www.theguardian.com/environme...ction-analysis

[jerrym]

The Zika virus is spreading rapidly, already having reached 23 countries in the Americas. While Canada is currently not considered viable for the host mosquito for the Zika virus, it is already spreading with global warming. The gravity of the situation with regard to this virus is reflected in the fact that four countries have already recommended that women not become pregnant from anywhere from six months to two years, depending on the country.
As the climate warms more tropical diseases are likely to start appearing even in Canada.
As it spreads north in the Americas, there is also the risk of it cross-breeding with a species that is better able to survive in the Canadian climate.

Authorities in Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador and Jamaica have all advised women to delay pregnancies until scientists can learn more about a possible link between the Zika virus and a rare condition known as microcephaly, which causes newborns to be born with shrunken skulls and underdeveloped brains.
After an outbreak in Brazil, Zika has swept across Latin America and the Caribbean. Brazilian authorities say more than 1 million cases have been confirmed, with some 4,000 cases of microcephaly that may be tied to Zika. ...
Last week, officials in Colombia, which shares a border with Brazil, reported more than 13,000 cases of Zika and warned women to avoid getting pregnant for the next 6 months. ...
Health officials in El Salvador are calling for even more serious precautions. Deputy Health Minister Eduardo Espinoza urged women to refrain from getting pregnant until 2018.

http://fusion.net/story/259016/women...a-virus-mount/

The Zika virus outbreak in Latin America could be a bigger threat to global health than the Ebola epidemic that killed more than 11,000 people in Africa.That is the stark claim of several senior health experts ahead of an emergency meeting of the World Health Organisation on Monday which will decide whether the Zika threat – which is linked to an alarming rise in cases of foetal deformation called microcephaly – should be rated a global health crisis.
“In many ways the Zika outbreak is worse than the Ebola epidemic of 2014-15,” said Jeremy Farrar, head of the Wellcome Trust. “Most virus carriers are symptomless. It is a silent infection in a group of highly vulnerable individuals – pregnant women – that is associated with a horrible outcome for their babies.”
There is no prospect of a vaccine for Zika at present, in contrast to Ebola, for which several are now under trial. “The real problem is that trying to develop a vaccine that would have to be tested on pregnant women is a practical and ethical nightmare,” added Mike Turner, head of infection and immuno-biology at the Wellcome Trust. ...

With at least 80% of those infected showing no symptoms, tracking the disease is extremely difficult. The mosquito species that spreads Zika, Aedes aegypti, has been expanding its range over the past few decades. “It loves urban life and has spread across the entire tropical belt of the planet, and of course that belt is expanding as global warming takes effect,” added Farrar.
Only extreme measures are likely to contain the Zika threat, said Turner. These could include the use of DDT to eradicate Aedes aegypti as quickly as possible. “We have to balance the risk posed to the environment by DDT with the terrible impact this virus is having on the unborn.”

http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...s-health-fears