Time’s Up
IT’S THE END OF WORLD, AND WE KNOW IT.
Derek Carlisle_____
Picture six friends chatting about the environment.
“There’s no such thing as global warming,” the first says. “Climate change is fake news.”
“No, the planet is warming,” says another, “but in a gradual, natural cycle that’s repeated itself throughout Earth’s history. Higher temperatures may even benefit some places.”
“What we’re experiencing is not natural,” counters a third. “It’s caused by human activity, specifically the burning of fossil fuels. But luckily, we’ve got time to get it under control.”
“On the contrary,” the fourth person suggests, “climate change is entering a critical stage. We need to keep lobbying Congress because if we don’t get emissions under control within the next couple of decades, we may experience big problems.”
“Sorry, but Congress—or any other political entity—isn’t doing anything close to what could make a difference in time,” the fifth says. “There will be huge consequences in most parts of the world, but hopefully our species will soon wake up and take drastic steps to avert total environmental and societal collapse. We must end our reliance on fossil fuels and pursue new technologies for removing carbon from the air.”
The sixth friend lets out a heavy sigh, then speaks. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news,” he says, “but we’ve simply gone too far down the hole. Rapid conversion to a renewably fueled society and carbon capture are technologically and logistically impossible for several reasons. Even if we were to immediately stop using fossil fuels today—which we won’t—there is already too much heat-trapping greenhouse gas in the atmosphere to stop the rise in global temperatures. A cascade of tipping points—many already in the rear-view mirror—will almost certainly make the Earth’s climate inhospitable for humans and most mammals…
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