4 ms·
We want to terraform mars, but we are marsforming earth instead. With many people still not accept climate change, things are going to get harder. Not all ice
by partycoder 10y ago
We want to terraform mars, but we are marsforming earth instead. With many people still not accept climate change, things are going to get harder.
Not all ice on earth is water. Some of it is methane. Methane is a much more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Once the arctic permafrost containing methane starts melting, produces a strong greenhouse effect that raises temperatures, reinforcing the melting process by making it faster...
This is believed to be linked to the Permian Extinction event. In that sense, this would be an existential threat that needs to be managed carefully.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_methane_emissions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_methane_emissions
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clathrate_gun_hypothesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clathrate_gun_hypothesis
- burkaman 10y agoI'm guessing the downvotes are because nearly everyone on this website accepts the reality of climate change, and your comment doesn't seem that relevant.
- partycoder 10y agoNote that I also added some information about a very specific side effect of global warming, which is less often discussed.
- calgoo 10y agoIts already happening in the Russian tundra. http://siberiantimes.com/ecology/casestudy/news/n0681-now-the-proof-permafrost-bubbles-are-leaking-methane-200-times-above-the-norm/ http://siberiantimes.com/ecology/casestudy/news/n0681-now-th...
- hash-set 10y ago"It's already happening"--um, you realize that "it's" been happening on this planet for millions of years, right? The climate changes, all over the world. Before humans, after humans.
- partycoder 10y agoYes, but it is in our best interest to not accelerate the process, especially before we have figured out how deal with the side-effects. Among the obvious side effect --raise in temperature-- the oceans starts absorbing carbon dioxide and methane becoming more acid, acid enough to for example erode the shells of snails.
- burkaman 10y agoLots of natural processes are bad for humans. Evolution, extinctions, forest fires, floods, droughts, hurricanes, earthquakes, erosion, etc. All of these things happened before humans, and we still would sometimes like to stop them so that there is no "after humans". We don't need to save the planet, the planet will be fine, we need to save ourselves.
- hash-set 10y agoI don't accept the reality of any science performed in an echo chamber--I've been too close to people doing that research and I know that what motivates them is not ultimate truth. Take that for what you will.
- burkaman 10y agoWhat is your definition of echo chamber? Do you believe in evolution? Evolution is even more of an echo chamber, because there aren't any huge companies that will be ruined if it's true. Also, does an echo chamber necessarily mean something is wrong?