Opinion 2 Questions about Global Warming

[Bballfan123]

2 questions about global warming I never quite understood

First off: the goal is to reduce global warming to 'less than 2C'. Currently we are at around 1.5C of warming I believe?

My question is how is 2C even 'that bad'? The Arctic is cold. Like really really cold. Around -20C in winter and 5C in summer, basically every day. There are parts that are even colder, some parts of Russian Siberia average below -40C in the winter for approx 6 months. 6 months of eternal freezing cold. How would a 2C increase to -38C cause any change at all? Seems like nothing really would happen. The only places that would see a noticeable effect would be like the east coast of U.S., where a 2C increase could bring some parts from a -1C average to a 1C average. Which would mean a lot less snow for some mild parts but the actual arctic and super cold regions would still stay super cold.
It was -89F in Yakutia earlier this winter, I don't see how bringing the temp up to approx -84F is going to cause any sort of difference. It's still fucking cold.

Second if the Arctic is warming faster than average what are the regions that are warming slower than average? I want to be able to play in snow 100 years from now and want to buy land in places that are more resilient.

 

[freakroor]

i think the biggest problem is the oceans warming which will cause some bad feedback loops, same thing with melting permafrost.

 

[PG29 red0 Jr]

Warming could be an advantage for some areas and a disadvantage for other areas.

 

[Chesten_Hesten]

Pollution should be a more imminent concern.

 

[Pliny Pete]

I want to be able to play in snow 100 years from now

Global Warming may not be your biggest problem

 

[Sano]

Global average temperature is different from local temperature. It might not sound like much, but when you realise that an increase of 3-4 degrees celcius was enough to take us out of the last ice age, you start getting the sense of how big of an impact it has.

 

[PG29 red0 Jr]

Global average temperature is different from local temperature. It might not sound like much, but when you realise that an increase of 3-4 degrees celcius was enough to take us out of the last ice age, you start getting the sense of how big of an impact it has.

How did that "global warming work out for man kind"? Taking us out of the ice age that is.

 

[Snubnoze707]

How did that "global warming work out for man kind"? Taking us out of the ice age that is.

It nearly erased us from the planet and took thousands of years for us to get back to civilization.

 

[Bballfan123]

i think the biggest problem is the oceans warming which will cause some bad feedback loops, same thing with melting permafrost.

Hmm... Yes of course the oceans

 

[Bballfan123]

Global Warming may not be your biggest problem

I plan on living to be 275 years old

 

[Bballfan123]

Global average temperature is different from local temperature. It might not sound like much, but when you realise that an increase of 3-4 degrees celcius was enough to take us out of the last ice age, you start getting the sense of how big of an impact it has.

No it wasn't that was an increase of approx 30C. Not 3-4. If the temp was about to increase by 50F overnight that would be a very serious concern

 

[Bballfan123]

Global average temperature is different from local temperature. It might not sound like much, but when you realise that an increase of 3-4 degrees celcius was enough to take us out of the last ice age, you start getting the sense of how big of an impact it has.

That's true, but I need the actual local temperature. A global average means very little if there's going to be huge fluctuations. Let's say 1 mountain range increase by 10F, and another by 1F. I would like to be able to know where the 1F location is so I can move there. Please

 

[Yehudim]

Well ice melts at a consistent temperature, so a few degrees could mean a lot of ice melting and rising sea levels.

Places in the Caribbean and Southeast Asia could just disappear. But yes, it really shouldn’t be a big deal for any advanced nation. Most of the world isn’t advanced though.

It can also be catastrophic for growing crops, since many crops are very particular and will not grow unless there’s a very specific set of circumstances.

 

[Sano]

 

[Crawler89]

this timeline of earths warming and where we are headed/going/could go is worth looking at and will give you some answers in a simple straight forward maner
https://xkcd.com/1732/

image linked below in spoilers as its large and i dont want to fill screens/piss people off

Spoiler

 

[Senzo Tanaka]

It’s the ocean temp that matters. Even a consistent 1 degree increase can cause coastal flooding. Several degrees? Goodbye every state on the coast.

The temp increase also throws off the jet stream so you could end up with stagnant temps in the Summer and a lot of wild temp swings, wind and extreme weather in the winter.

Not to mention, all of the problems millions of people moving inward would cause with population density, food, etc.

I’m personally pessimistic that we can fix or reverse climate change. You’d need a world wide commitment and developing nations like India and China are not going to stifle their growth.

I do think it’s worth trying though. It’s really not about saving the planet. It’s about making human life comfortable.

 

[AnGrYcRoW]

Doing nothing is asinine, moving steadily towards renewable energy is common sense , it will be cheaper and provide energy security as well as rob despots like Putin , the house of Saud and many more of their power .

 

[dirtypablo]

No it wasn't that was an increase of approx 30C. Not 3-4. If the temp was about to increase by 50F overnight that would be a very serious concern

Where are you getting this information? The global average during the last glacial maximum was 6 degrees C colder than the current average.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ice-age-temperature-science-how-cold-180975674/

 

[cooks1]

The good news is that humans adapt very well.

The bad news is the ways we go about adapting usually requires ever more and larger adaptations.

60% of the global population lives within 60 miles of a coast.

The lack of fresh water is already a problem in a LOT of areas. Even in developed nations. It will get worse. It will drive migrations which will put greater strain on the ever fewer places with plentiful water supplies. Requiring more adaptation.

In spoiled, rich developed nations, even small adaptations are met with outrage. Can you imagine having your water usage forced to 30% of it's current level? And that would just take the US from 2nd most in the world per capita to 18th. Most people could cut their water use in half without even being significantly inconvenienced. But we want none of that.

 

[Bald1]

Pollution should be a more imminent concern.

If we concentrated more on lessening pollution of all kinds that would have an overall positive effect on the environment.
- Captain Obvious

Lessening single use plastics, emissions from industry and households, making sure products are easily recycled and making that option viable, severely fining any sort of planned obsolescence business models, making widgets last for decades instead of years, etc etc.