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> If this is true, then humanity is also on the cusp of being able to eliminate the impact on climate from burning fossil fuels in one generation! Depending on
by webmaven 5y ago
> If this is true, then humanity is also on the cusp of being able to eliminate the impact on climate from burning fossil fuels in one generation!
Depending on how you define 'generation', this may be unrealistic. Even if the whole world economy were to become carbon neutral tomorrow, it would be a while before greenhouse gasses started to go down, and that assumes we haven't already reached a tipping point for a runaway greenhouse effect.
We're already seeing very worrying releases of methane from ocean floor clathrates and from melting permafrost, for example.
Even optimistic scenarios suggest that it would be touch and go for the next couple of decades, and there is little evidence that our branch of the multiverse is following an optimistic scenario.
- gary_0 5y agoGlobally we have about 17,000 TWh (and increasing) of fossil fuel power generation we'll need to replace. It's gonna take a while, and that's very unfortunate.
- webmaven 5y agoMy point was that even if it was all replaced tomorrow, the extra greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere won't go away immediately, and the extra heat trapped won't either.
- brokenmachine 5y ago>assumes we haven't already reached a tipping point for a runaway greenhouse effect. With limitless energy, we could just make some kind of Earth AC unit.
- webmaven 5y agoThere is really no such thing as "too cheap to meter" and certainly not "limitless" power. If absolutely nothing else, there is a limit on the number of powerplants that can be built, and certainly on how fast they can be built.
- brokenmachine 5y agoBut I thought humanity was "on the cusp of practically limitless energy"!