Unfortunately the ongoing fossil-fuel-induced climate catastrophe has worsened considerably since ‘Last Hours’ was made. Thanks to inaction (or rather totally inappropriate action) of bought-and-paid-for politicians and incompetent bureaucrats since the early 1970s (when Limits to Growth was published), abrupt climate change is already underway and is accelerating. Rapid planetary overheating is what I and many others -such as emeritus professor Guy McPherson- have been warning about for well over a decade. Repeated warnings deaf on deaf ears.
Arctic sea ice is currently at a record low for the time of year, more than 2 standard deviations below the 1981-2010 average, and at the moment is trending to zero ice formation!
Clearly zero ice formation will not continue in the middle of the northern winter and the ice cover will increase, but the implications for the immediate future of there being so little multi-year ice are truly horrific. The warming Arctic waters will further destabilize methane clathrates on the shallow sea floor north of Siberia and will cause Greenland ice to melt even faster than it has been.
Undoubtedly the denialists and the fossil fuel lobby groups who are active in suppressing truth will give thumbs down to all discussion of the truth about how we have been lied to for so long* and how fossil fuel use will cause misery and mayhem for the next generation in the not-too-distant future. (Guy McPherson thinks Near Term Human Extinction could occur in as little as 15 years from now: I suspect it may be closer to 25 from now but as time goes on the 15-year time frame for NTHE looks ever more likely.)
*Exon-Mobil knew about the effect of rising CO2 decades ago and deliberately funded misinformation ‘foundations’ to promote confusion and disbelief amongst the general public.
The is one thing we can be certain about: the Key government will continue to make everything that matters worse.
The main reason Cop 1 – 21 were/are a joke is simply because they have all been driven by hopeaholics, who can’t get their little minds around the fact that humans can do nothing to reduce the 400 ppm CO2 we are currently seeing (or the 380 ppm back @ cop1)
We are not ‘programmed’ to accept extinction, we will keep attacking windmills, like insane Dutchman. lol
Very true that is, so we are living in the fools paradise now as this Government is closing down rail and promoting truck freight that pollutes with tyre and exhaust pollution giving us and the climate cancer from greenhouse gas emissions and pollution rising at unstoppable rates here in NZ and rail uses no tyres and five to 12 times less fuel per tonne carried per Km, so if we kill rail we will kill our future survival.
Somewhat hyperbolic as all of these changes occurred over many centuries. But perhaps shock tactics are needed, and indeed we are experimenting with atmospheric CO2 in a way that’s never been done before. Do remember that cows produce a shitload of methane, and if intensive dairy farming continues (I hope not for many reasons) this industry will have to pay just as other polluters do.
Not mentioned in the doco: warming oceans slow down the current that carries hot, moist air from the equator/tropics to the poles as the ocean temperature equilibrates with the air temperature. As a result the oxygen content of the seas decreases, promoting anaerobic bacterial life. They tend to metabolise sulfur into SO2, H2S etc., killing most other species in the water, and further stratifying it. When the gases are concentrated enough to reach the surface this is bad news for terrestrial life.
Ironically, Indo-china’s use of coal plants also releases SOx, which tends to block incident sunlight. It’s actually a geoengineering strategy to combat warming but will of course increase acid rain…
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Good to see TDB feature ‘Last Hours’.
Unfortunately the ongoing fossil-fuel-induced climate catastrophe has worsened considerably since ‘Last Hours’ was made. Thanks to inaction (or rather totally inappropriate action) of bought-and-paid-for politicians and incompetent bureaucrats since the early 1970s (when Limits to Growth was published), abrupt climate change is already underway and is accelerating. Rapid planetary overheating is what I and many others -such as emeritus professor Guy McPherson- have been warning about for well over a decade. Repeated warnings deaf on deaf ears.
Arctic sea ice is currently at a record low for the time of year, more than 2 standard deviations below the 1981-2010 average, and at the moment is trending to zero ice formation!
http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/
Clearly zero ice formation will not continue in the middle of the northern winter and the ice cover will increase, but the implications for the immediate future of there being so little multi-year ice are truly horrific. The warming Arctic waters will further destabilize methane clathrates on the shallow sea floor north of Siberia and will cause Greenland ice to melt even faster than it has been.
Undoubtedly the denialists and the fossil fuel lobby groups who are active in suppressing truth will give thumbs down to all discussion of the truth about how we have been lied to for so long* and how fossil fuel use will cause misery and mayhem for the next generation in the not-too-distant future. (Guy McPherson thinks Near Term Human Extinction could occur in as little as 15 years from now: I suspect it may be closer to 25 from now but as time goes on the 15-year time frame for NTHE looks ever more likely.)
*Exon-Mobil knew about the effect of rising CO2 decades ago and deliberately funded misinformation ‘foundations’ to promote confusion and disbelief amongst the general public.
The is one thing we can be certain about: the Key government will continue to make everything that matters worse.
The main reason Cop 1 – 21 were/are a joke is simply because they have all been driven by hopeaholics, who can’t get their little minds around the fact that humans can do nothing to reduce the 400 ppm CO2 we are currently seeing (or the 380 ppm back @ cop1)
We are not ‘programmed’ to accept extinction, we will keep attacking windmills, like insane Dutchman. lol
Very true that is, so we are living in the fools paradise now as this Government is closing down rail and promoting truck freight that pollutes with tyre and exhaust pollution giving us and the climate cancer from greenhouse gas emissions and pollution rising at unstoppable rates here in NZ and rail uses no tyres and five to 12 times less fuel per tonne carried per Km, so if we kill rail we will kill our future survival.
Somewhat hyperbolic as all of these changes occurred over many centuries. But perhaps shock tactics are needed, and indeed we are experimenting with atmospheric CO2 in a way that’s never been done before. Do remember that cows produce a shitload of methane, and if intensive dairy farming continues (I hope not for many reasons) this industry will have to pay just as other polluters do.
Not mentioned in the doco: warming oceans slow down the current that carries hot, moist air from the equator/tropics to the poles as the ocean temperature equilibrates with the air temperature. As a result the oxygen content of the seas decreases, promoting anaerobic bacterial life. They tend to metabolise sulfur into SO2, H2S etc., killing most other species in the water, and further stratifying it. When the gases are concentrated enough to reach the surface this is bad news for terrestrial life.
Ironically, Indo-china’s use of coal plants also releases SOx, which tends to block incident sunlight. It’s actually a geoengineering strategy to combat warming but will of course increase acid rain…
Finally a very good cartoon:
http://www.bradblog.com/Images/JoelPett_ClimateSummitHoaxForNothing_120709.jpg
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