Yes temperatures could rise higher 125 years from now. But the consequences of similar temperature increases over the last 125 years has helped, not hurt the flourishing of mankind. As Steve Koonin put it "We can get some sense of how the world has fared under a changing climate by looking back to 1900. Since that time, the globe warmed 1.3°C, about as much as the Inter- governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts will occur in the next century under moderate future emissions.
But even as the globe warmed and the population quintupled, humanity prospered as never before. For example, global average lifespan went from thirty-two years to seventy-two years, economic activity per capita grew by a factor of seven, and the death rate from extreme weather events plummeted by a factor of fifty! (chart). Any assertion that a similar warming over the next century will be catastrophic is implausible and finds little support in either IPCC science assessments or the underlying scientific literature and data."
Thats like saying that because life expectancies are longer today we no longer need to worry about deaths from war.
Of course the human condition has improved with technological advancement and greater prosperity. That doesn't mean that there are no growing problems today that will cause suffering if we do not address them. And while human impacts are mediated by adaptive capacity, the same is decidedly not true for the natural world.
Trillions have been spent to get the world up to 3% renewables and every country with high renewable penetration has seen electricity prices skyrocket. Had those trillions been put to better, more efficient, and productive use, mankind would be in an even better position than today. Endlessly hawking doomsday scenarios, then coming up empty-handed, has hurt mankind not helped. There is a little bit of Paul Ehrlich in everyone I guess, they just need to learn to control that impulse.
Yes temperatures could rise higher 125 years from now. But the consequences of similar temperature increases over the last 125 years has helped, not hurt the flourishing of mankind. As Steve Koonin put it "We can get some sense of how the world has fared under a changing climate by looking back to 1900. Since that time, the globe warmed 1.3°C, about as much as the Inter- governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts will occur in the next century under moderate future emissions.
But even as the globe warmed and the population quintupled, humanity prospered as never before. For example, global average lifespan went from thirty-two years to seventy-two years, economic activity per capita grew by a factor of seven, and the death rate from extreme weather events plummeted by a factor of fifty! (chart). Any assertion that a similar warming over the next century will be catastrophic is implausible and finds little support in either IPCC science assessments or the underlying scientific literature and data."
Thats like saying that because life expectancies are longer today we no longer need to worry about deaths from war.
Of course the human condition has improved with technological advancement and greater prosperity. That doesn't mean that there are no growing problems today that will cause suffering if we do not address them. And while human impacts are mediated by adaptive capacity, the same is decidedly not true for the natural world.
Trillions have been spent to get the world up to 3% renewables and every country with high renewable penetration has seen electricity prices skyrocket. Had those trillions been put to better, more efficient, and productive use, mankind would be in an even better position than today. Endlessly hawking doomsday scenarios, then coming up empty-handed, has hurt mankind not helped. There is a little bit of Paul Ehrlich in everyone I guess, they just need to learn to control that impulse.
Oh, Smokey. Are you really that insensitive to human tragedy? Tell the survivors of the Trishuli R. floods that global warming isn't catastrophic!
Nicely written but surprised there was no mention of sunshine reflection.