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Many economists and politicians were deaf to the phrase 'tipping point'. Again, they chose not to hear it.
by throwaway_pdp09 6y ago
Many economists and politicians were deaf to the phrase 'tipping point'. Again, they chose not to hear it.
- rayiner 6y agoThe tipping point analysis is encapsulated into the IPCC projections the economists are relying on. If by "tipping point" you mean "runaway" effects--IPCC scientists have not embraced such effects as likely.
- throwaway_pdp09 6y agoThat's simple garbage. IPCC have been warning about tipping points. Here's a recent one https://www.pnas.org/content/115/33/8252 https://www.pnas.org/content/115/33/8252 The ipcc has warned of exactly those runaway effects.
- xyzzyz 6y agoWhy would IPCC then write in their report that runaway effects are unlikely?
- throwaway_pdp09 6y agoIf they had, I'd be wrong. Please quote where they said that.
- rayiner 6y agoThe IPCC has addressed many "tipping points" that don't lead to civilization-ending consequences: https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/chapter-3 https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/chapter-3. The IPCC's Fifth Report stated that a "runaway greenhouse"-type outcome was virtually impossible.
- throwaway_pdp09 6y agoThat there are tipping points that don't do not preclude tipping points that plausibly do. > The IPCC's Fifth Report stated that a "runaway greenhouse"-type outcome was virtually impossible. WHERE? doc URL and page number or searchable extract please.
- rayiner 6y agohttps://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/03/inf3-6.pdf https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/03/inf3-6.pdf Page 90 first full paragraph.
- throwaway_pdp09 6y agoYou completely misunderstand (or misrepresent) that para. ...“runaway greenhouse effect”—analogous to Venus... From wiki (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus) "Venus is by far the hottest planet in the Solar System, with a mean surface temperature of 735 K (462 °C; 863 °F)" So they don't expect the earth's surface to become hot enough to literally melt lead (327 °C) by a large margin. Neither do I. Hint: it doesn't need to get anywhere near that extreme before we're dead. The rest of that para does actually list some "unacceptable" and "dangerous" irreversible impacts (selective quote for space:) "For example, stability of thermohaline circulation or the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) or the Greenland ice sheet, the mobilization of biospheric CO 2 stocks, changes in the Asian summer monsoons, loss of mountain glaciers, coral reefs"