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Humans will not go extinct even in the worst version of global warming. I really hate this hyperbole because it's easily disproven and simply gives fuel to deni

Humans will not go extinct even in the worst version of global warming. I really hate this hyperbole because it's easily disproven and simply gives fuel to deniers. Please don't use such hyperbole.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
chrisco255 8y ago
How is this being downvoted? The "Chicken Little" sky is falling approach is beyond ridiculous. The atmosphere has had a lot more CO2 than current levels in previous eras, like 5 times as much in the Jurassic era, for example. https://www.livescience.com/44330-jurassic-dinosaur-carbon-dioxide.html https://www.livescience.com/44330-jurassic-dinosaur-carbon-d... In fact it's the plant matter from this very era that created oil in the first place...
- deleted 8y ago
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- fulafel 8y ago
  We don't really know the conditions in which humanity would go extinct instead of just regressing to a mad max style remnant subsisting on edge of starvation. (Well, minus the cars obviously) Certainly the arrival of a jurassic style climate and quick disappearance of preconditions of agriculture, combined with quick extinction of human-huntable animals, cutting down forests for firewood, mixed in with wars (nuclear holocaust?) might trigger a very long period of civilization collapse. Why is not extinction a possibility?
  - esarbe 8y ago
    That sounds like a very reasonable scenario. I'm going to cry in the darkness now.
  - chrisco255 8y ago
    Because we evolved intelligence and developed electricity, motors, greenhouses, etc. We have all the world's knowledge accessible from just a few clicks from anywhere on the planet. We have massive communication networks for coordinating efforts to stave off events. I think shy of a meteor hitting the planet, we'll be fine. We still might suffer big consequences, if sea levels rise too much and whole cities get displaced, but extinction is not even within 1/10th of a percent of chance of happening.
    - fulafel 8y ago
      I guess a lot depends on your outlook on how well organized society will hold up. It provides the platform by which specialization of experts and industrial production of your proffered items can be sustained. There's a lot of higher order effects that are not obvious when you consider just the immediate effects of scarcity, famines, wars etc. Remember that all the recent places in danger of local collapse have been propped back up by the rest of the world because the troubles have been local. Hisory has many lessons of civilizations collapsing, you might read up on Jared Diamond's Collapse or Joseph Tainter's earlier work. A lot of these past civilizations had all the ingredients to make it, but ended up destroying themselves.
consumer451 8y ago
> Humans will not go extinct even in the worst version of global warming. This is not true. Here is a plausible scenario for complete human extinction due to excess CO2 in the atmosphere and oceans: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12576-016-0501-0 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12576-016-0501-...
yogthos 8y ago
We sure will when our food chain collapses.
esarbe 8y ago
If it's easily disproven; please do so. For me it's just a matter of time until the damage of our predatory overcultivation catches up with us in a systemic and global ecosystem collapse. There's only so much damage an ecosystem can absorb before it gives in and there are quite some indications (i.e. the "Insect Apocalypse") that we are reaching the tipping point. Just think about it; how can an ecosystem support humans, if it can't support insects anymore? And I'm not only talking about flying insects but everything in our agricultural support system; e.g. soil. Again; please disprove the 'hyperbole', I'd be really glad.

Humans will not go extinct even in the worst version of global warming. I really hate this hyperbole because it's easily disproven and simply gives fuel to deniers. Please don't use such hyperbole.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

chrisco255 8y ago

How is this being downvoted? The "Chicken Little" sky is falling approach is beyond ridiculous. The atmosphere has had a lot more CO2 than current levels in previous eras, like 5 times as much in the Jurassic era, for example. https://www.livescience.com/44330-jurassic-dinosaur-carbon-dioxide.html https://www.livescience.com/44330-jurassic-dinosaur-carbon-d... In fact it's the plant matter from this very era that created oil in the first place...

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
fulafel 8y ago
We don't really know the conditions in which humanity would go extinct instead of just regressing to a mad max style remnant subsisting on edge of starvation. (Well, minus the cars obviously) Certainly the arrival of a jurassic style climate and quick disappearance of preconditions of agriculture, combined with quick extinction of human-huntable animals, cutting down forests for firewood, mixed in with wars (nuclear holocaust?) might trigger a very long period of civilization collapse. Why is not extinction a possibility?
- esarbe 8y ago
  That sounds like a very reasonable scenario. I'm going to cry in the darkness now.
- chrisco255 8y ago
  Because we evolved intelligence and developed electricity, motors, greenhouses, etc. We have all the world's knowledge accessible from just a few clicks from anywhere on the planet. We have massive communication networks for coordinating efforts to stave off events. I think shy of a meteor hitting the planet, we'll be fine. We still might suffer big consequences, if sea levels rise too much and whole cities get displaced, but extinction is not even within 1/10th of a percent of chance of happening.
  - fulafel 8y ago
    I guess a lot depends on your outlook on how well organized society will hold up. It provides the platform by which specialization of experts and industrial production of your proffered items can be sustained. There's a lot of higher order effects that are not obvious when you consider just the immediate effects of scarcity, famines, wars etc. Remember that all the recent places in danger of local collapse have been propped back up by the rest of the world because the troubles have been local. Hisory has many lessons of civilizations collapsing, you might read up on Jared Diamond's Collapse or Joseph Tainter's earlier work. A lot of these past civilizations had all the ingredients to make it, but ended up destroying themselves.

consumer451 8y ago

> Humans will not go extinct even in the worst version of global warming. This is not true. Here is a plausible scenario for complete human extinction due to excess CO2 in the atmosphere and oceans: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12576-016-0501-0 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12576-016-0501-...

yogthos 8y ago

We sure will when our food chain collapses.

esarbe 8y ago

If it's easily disproven; please do so. For me it's just a matter of time until the damage of our predatory overcultivation catches up with us in a systemic and global ecosystem collapse. There's only so much damage an ecosystem can absorb before it gives in and there are quite some indications (i.e. the "Insect Apocalypse") that we are reaching the tipping point. Just think about it; how can an ecosystem support humans, if it can't support insects anymore? And I'm not only talking about flying insects but everything in our agricultural support system; e.g. soil. Again; please disprove the 'hyperbole', I'd be really glad.