Possible Futures
- Thread starter EmoBorg
- Start date
^ And temperature leads CO2 in the geological record. No scientist even debates that, except for perhaps Al Gore and The Team. When it heats up, the oceans vent CO2, when it cools down, they absorb it. In no case in the entire Antarctic ice core record does both the CO2 level and temperature rise without the temperature rising first (by several centuries). Another interesting aspect of the record is that at any given level of CO2, the temperatures could be shooting upward at, say 1.5 degrees Kelvin per thousand years, or dropping at -0.5 degrees Kelvin per thousand years. Pick another CO2 level and you can watch the temperature going up and up, and later going down and down. This also means that the temperature can be shooting up with very low CO2 levels (and the high temperature later raises CO2 levels), but then the temperature plummets again while the CO2 levels are extremely high. If CO2 was the primary temperature driver, this couldn't happen.
In the case of the eocene, they think the CO2 might've come from the formation of the Himalayas, but they're not positive. The temperatures dropped, and they're not sure why that happened, either. One theory is tha the formation of the Antarctic circumpolar current threw the Earth into a long term cold condition, and that we've been struggling through it ever since.
Also note that instead of the IPCC paranoia about a doubling of CO2, the Eocene had about 50 times the current CO2 level and life was thriving, with the planet far more productive than it is at present. As I said, it was like Hawaii everywhere!
In the case of the eocene, they think the CO2 might've come from the formation of the Himalayas, but they're not positive. The temperatures dropped, and they're not sure why that happened, either. One theory is tha the formation of the Antarctic circumpolar current threw the Earth into a long term cold condition, and that we've been struggling through it ever since.
Also note that instead of the IPCC paranoia about a doubling of CO2, the Eocene had about 50 times the current CO2 level and life was thriving, with the planet far more productive than it is at present. As I said, it was like Hawaii everywhere!
Personally, I think the big problem with an increase in temperature globally is the fact that a very high percentage of human population lives on the coasts. Rising sea levels being the problem. Sure, the planet may turn into a tropical paradise, but then again, Florida will be under water.
^ That just makes inland real estate worth more! 
Actually, the average sea-level rise predicted by the IPCC is about 8 inches by 2050, and a foot to a foot and a half by 2100.
http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/ch10s10-6-5.html
This predicted increase is about the same (0.3m) as the sea level rise since 1850, yet New York, Boston, and other coastal cities added a great deal of land over this period, because though it may take the ocean 50 years to rise 8 inches, it takes sweaty guys on a paving crew only a couple days to raise the streets that much, or add a couple feet to a berm.
Absent any global warming, the oceans would still rise 7 inches anyway, since that's been the rate for the past century and a half. So it's not going to be quite as dramatic as losing Doggerland.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162...ost-city-of-atlantis-discovered-off-scotland/
Actually, the average sea-level rise predicted by the IPCC is about 8 inches by 2050, and a foot to a foot and a half by 2100.
http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg1/en/ch10s10-6-5.html
This predicted increase is about the same (0.3m) as the sea level rise since 1850, yet New York, Boston, and other coastal cities added a great deal of land over this period, because though it may take the ocean 50 years to rise 8 inches, it takes sweaty guys on a paving crew only a couple days to raise the streets that much, or add a couple feet to a berm.
Absent any global warming, the oceans would still rise 7 inches anyway, since that's been the rate for the past century and a half. So it's not going to be quite as dramatic as losing Doggerland.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162...ost-city-of-atlantis-discovered-off-scotland/
^ That's part of the long term trend over the past few thousand years that is covered by accurate tide gages. We didn't have power plants and SUV's back in the 1860's, and CO2 could not have played any significant role in the rise. The sea level has risen about 400 feet in the past 18,000 years, and CO2 played no part in that, either. We're nearing the end of an interglacial period during an ice age, so the sea-level is unstable. The glaciers will advance again and Northern Eurasian, Northern US, and Canadian cities will get wiped off the map.
Let's hope so, although I'm glad that Nov. 22, 1987 did NOT come off as the show predicted.
I held my breath all that day, let me tell you.....
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