Is it too late to reverse global warming?
Is it too late the change the course we’re set on? Is it too late to turn back the tide of global warming? Maybe, yes, for now. While this post from Sky Watch highlights the real severity of the problem:
Relatively small temperature changes have disproportionately large effects. I have heard people wonder why we should be worried about an increase in the average temperature of, say, 4°C or 5°C during the present century. One answer is that the resulting rise in sea levels would put cities such as New York and London as well as most of Bangladesh and Vietnam under water. Sceptics would do well to remember that today’s global temperatures are only 5°C higher than those of the last ice age.
I also think that over the long-term the Earth’s climate will correct itself. Unfortunately we won’t be around to enjoy it. My feeling is that the climate system will right itself, the problem I see is that process of self-correcting will be pretty devastating. In the meantime I think we all have to do our part to conserve energy, reduce emissions, and press our leaders to plan for the worst (which doesn’t include investing in beach-front property in Silicon Valley).
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