World May Be Uninhabitable Due To Global Warming

[G2099]

The vast Amazon rainforest is on the brink of being turned into desert, with catastrophic consequences for the world's climate, alarming research suggests. And the process, which would be irreversible, could begin as early as next year.

Studies by the blue-chip Woods Hole Research Centre, carried out in Amazonia, have concluded that the forest cannot withstand more than two consecutive years of drought without breaking down.

Scientists say that this would spread drought into the northern hemisphere, including Britain, and could massively accelerate global warming with incalculable consequences, spinning out of control, a process that might end in the world becoming uninhabitable.

http://www.heatisonline.org/contentserver/objecthandlers/index.cfm?id=6016&method=full

[wtmusic]

1. The worst that could happen is we could become like Venus

Avg. temp 870F

We should really think about whether the price of signing on to Kyoto is worth it

[KT2000]

4. we need a blue ribbon panel

to consider the benefits/risk of signing. They should be limited to 50 years for their study and report. Then we will know for sure.

:grr:

[Poppyseedman]

8. Kyoto isn't worth the paper it's printed on

Bear in mind, I didn't say we should do nothing or there isn't a problem as people tend to do when I bash that worthless document.

Before you flame you must have read Kyoto first.

Russia, China and India are currently completely ignoring it and building coal burning plants as fast as possible.

For the problem to be addressed, the USA must take the lead. Kyoto will never pass the Senate, even a democratic majority cannot get it passed, so it's a moot point.

We need real leadership to take us to the next level enviromentally

[Zhade]

21. What are your suggestions, then?

NT!

[w4rma]

31. That poster's suggestion is to do absolutely nothing. (nt)

[wtmusic]

27. Russia ratified it two years ago and will have no problem meeting its

commitments; China and India are exempt under the principle of "common but differentiated responsibility" (which many argue is the only condition under which they would be brought under the Kyoto umbrella). All have ratified the treaty and are hardly "ignoring" it. The Chinese also use 1/4 the energy we do per capita when it should be significantly higher than ours, due to the efficiencies available in a country with the US's standard of living. So the US should bear a higher burden, and compliance with Kyoto now in no way negates the possibility for a different schedule of required cuts being ratified in the future (saying we shouldn't bear a higher burden is like telling the $2M earners to keep their tax cuts--they deserve them). And saying that the cost outweighs the benefits, as some do, is just asinine. The cost of not coming up with a plan is the destruction of our species.

So Kyoto, far from being a "worthless document", is a socially-responsible first step, and there is little disagreement that the framework of tradeable "carbon credits" is equitable and sound. At the same time, we do need real leadership to take it to the next level, put in some concrete targets for China, India, and Russia, and get it ratified.

[Poppyseedman]

28. Welcome to the real world, not the world of pretend treaties

where countries nod their head politely and continue to do what is the immediate expedience rather than long term good

The official treaty to curb greenhouse-gas emissions hasn't gone into effect yet and already three countries are planning to build nearly 850 new coal-fired plants,


The reason for the dramatic imbalance is coal. Just a few years ago, economists and environmentalists still pictured a world shifting steadily from "dirty" coal-fired power plants to "cleaner" natural-gas turbines. But the fast-rising price of natural gas and other factors abruptly changed that picture. Now the world is facing a tidal wave of new power plants fired by coal, experts say. "China and India are building coal-fired capacity as fast as they can," says Christopher Bergesen, who tracks power plant construction for Platts, the energy publishing division of McGraw- Hill.

China is the dominant player. The country is on track to add 562 coal-fired plants - nearly half the world total of plants expected to come online in the next eight years. India could add 213such plants; the US, 72.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1223/p01s04-sten.html

[wtmusic]

29. How are Americans contributing to the long term good

besides contributing 4x as much atmospheric carbon?

That's the real world, and the meaning of the phrase "inconvenient truth"...

[Poppyseedman]

30. I can't agree more that America should lead the way

But in the real world Kyoto doesn't work. The USA will never agree to it. Even a democratically controlled Senate will not pass it.

We can pretend all day long Kyoto can do good if only countries would abide by it. They don't or won't.

We need an American initiative that the world can sign on to that doesn't harm our economy and actually has a chance of passing in the Senate

We need leadership and it isn't coming out of DC.

[w4rma]

32. I'm sorry but cutting global warming without a world wide sacrifice is

a pipe dream. Every polluter in the world will need to upgrade their filters and spend more money on environmental protection. <period>

Or do you think maybe we all should rather pray for a miracle?

[Poppyseedman]

44. I'm sorry you can not comprehend how the real world works

Your post implies the only way to achieve results is by sacrifice, I would disagree

In the real world rather then the phony fake world the U.N. pretends exist, where countries sign on to treaties and they pretend to abide by then and the U.N. pretends to be angry about it and sends them a nasty letter so they understand how bad they are. :crazy:

When the USA finally gets it's act together and figures out how to be "capitalist green" (not an oxymoron) meaning going "green" will be profitable rather than harm the business world and the economy, the world will beat a path to our door.

There are many, many, businesses working on innovative ways to be "green" and "profitable"

[wtmusic]

59. That may be how the "real world" in your mind works

(or the one on the talkradio show you listen to), but there is no way in hell the profit motive is going to take care of this one.

Best read up a little on the Montreal Protocol, characterized as "the most successful international environmental agreement to date". Switching from CFCs was not profitable in the least and was exceedingly burdensome for some economies, so a Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol was set up to help out. The framework for the fund came from the Conference on Environment and Development in 1992 sponsored by whom?

The UN.

Sounds more like they're working to save us from the "phony fake world" you pretend exists. :crazy:

[gulfcoastliberal]

10. Don't you know? Republicans are are aliens waging a war on the world so

they have another Venusian homeworld. ;)

[glitch]

12. That would explain their irrational actions. Nothing else seems too... nt

[norml]

66. Space Law forbids exterminating primitives.

Interested parties must get primitives to destroy themselves, before they can take possession.

Interference, which is of course forbidden, happens anyway.

http://www.spacelawstation.com/

[eppur_se_muova]

23. A bit alarmist, I doubt it would go past mid-700's.

:sarcasm::actually gallows humor:

[alfredo]

33. Sure glad I got the air conditioner fixed.

[nam78_two]

2. KICKED AND RECOMMENDED

good god...

[brokensymmetry]

3. If we're counting on the Amazon, it may be too late.

Perhaps we're already past the tipping point.

So, how does it feel to be dead men (and women) walking?

[City Lights]

5. Has this been reported by the US media?

If so, I missed it. I did some googling and most of the sites that came up were in Europe, Canada or New Zealand.

Thanks for posting this. I emailed it to a bunch of people.

[autorank]

15. Of course it has not. None of this has.

Here is what will happen for sure due to a 20 foot rise in sea level which is comeing for sure, not much argument except by paid hacks for the oil idustry:

2030-2090 the polar caps melt entirely and

- no more Florida cities south of Tampa, none at all

- no more Netherlands

- no more Bangladesh

- no more NOLA

- no more lower Manhattan and London

- SF Bay area severely compromised, mostly on Oakland side

- no Shanghai

- not much Beijing

and that's a partial list. The initial thought was a 3' seal leve increase. Revisions based on new data and accelerating chagne caused the consensus to change to 20!.

We are totally fucked and nobody is talking about it. Nice huh.

[City Lights]

18. ...

:scared:

[autorank]

36. The OP of this thread is the first news that really scared the

be jeebus out of me. There's a minority gorup of geophysicists who tink we're headed for an Age of Chaos, brought on by acceleration in the sea temp. But this, Holy Cow.

And nobody is covering it in the USA, no world leader is pounding on the table anywhere, except Gore.

What a pathetic fate we have righ tnow. Hopefully something will change things but maybe not.

:shrug:

[mom cat]

20. Sea level Changes : Check here so see what submerges at various

sea level changes:
http://atlas.geo.cornell.edu/education/quest/

On bottom left, click map area, then select the region in the drop down box. In the "base map " box keep the "costal topography" choice.

Then, on the botom left of the main map, click "menu" then "data sets".

On page that pops up, go to drop down box and select "Topography" then click "Show sea level changes". Click the button in the box on the left, then use the arrows in the box on the right to set the sea level rise you want to investigate. Click "OK".
Then go back to the bottom left and click "get map" (and wait a while)

Wash, rinse and repeat.

[autorank]

37. University ofi Arizona Maps

http://tinyurl.com/n8hzb

This is a great source. I'll find their interactive version for the entire globe. You can do "x" meters and get a map showing what goes.

Scary



polar glaciers, temps at 130,000-year highs PDF Print E-mail
Written by RANDOLPH E. SCHMID
Friday, 24 March 2006
http://tinyurl.com/lan8f

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Already the Earth is shaking beneath melting ice as rising temperatures threaten to shrink polar glaciers and raise sea levels around the world.

An iceberg floats in the bay in Kulusuk, Greenland near the arctic circle in this Aug. 16, 2005 file photo. (AP Photo/John McConnico/File)

By the end of this century, Arctic readings could rise to levels not seen in 130,000 years, when the oceans were several feet higher than now, according to new research appearing in Friday's issue of the journal Science.

Even now, giant glaciers lubricated by melting water have begun causing earthquakes in Greenland as they lurch toward the ocean, other scientists report in the same journal.

[mom cat]

49. Thanks ,,, I'll check it out.

[Solon]

39. Why are you so optimistic?

This, I think, is the worst case scenario:

Amazon Rain Forest turns to desert, starting next year(2007), leading to decreased oxygen levels in atmosphere, probably cut the total by about 5% or more. This also increases CO2 levels, by the way, creating a feedback loop that magnifies the greenhouse gas effect. Humans will feel, at sea level, what it is like to live a few thousand feet up in the air, think asthma attacks for healthy people.

Permafrost starts melting(note, this started a few years ago), and starts to release large amounts of Methane, a much more efficient greenhouse gas. The feedback loop mentioned above accelerates this melting, releasing large amounts of Methane into atmosphere.

Due to global climate change, the grass and farmlands of the Midwest turn to desert, from expansion of the Southwestern deserts. In addition, peak oil, probably hitting as soon as next year, makes the problem worse, food prices skyrocket, famine occurs worldwide, total amount of deaths would probably be in the billions.

By 2010, the North ice cap disappears entirely in summer, the Arctic sea warms up from absorption of the Sun's heat, ice reflects, water absorbs. In the same year, the glaciers of Greenland and the ice shelves of Antarctica collapse completely, causing ocean levels to rise anywhere from 30 to 60 feet or more.

Most coastal waters are now uninhabitable, over 2 billion people worldwide will be refugees, at the minimum, their homes and businesses now several feet underwater.

By 2014 or so, frozen methane under the sea floor vaporizes, due to rising sea temperatures, releases tons of Methane gas, this gas then further raises the temperature of the Earth by probably 3 degrees within a few years.

By 2018 or so, humans start abandoning the equatorial regions entirely, civilization, what is left of it, collapses for the most part, Grasslands and forests, mostly sub-tropical, start growing in regions of Canada and Russia, the former tundra regions. Humans, the few who are left, migrate with the forests. Humans start inhabiting the coasts around the arctic sea and possibly Antarctica as well. Total population by this time is MAYBE a billion people or so, and that is being generous.

However, Global Warming won't stop, in fact, most of the methane in the sea still hasn't been released, and it is slowly creating a runaway effect.

By 2030, the last humans on Earth, indeed, some of the last of the large mammals, start breathing their last, by 2040 or so, most go extinct, humans among them.

Can you tell I'm an optimist? ;)

Of course, this is only a WORST CASE SCENARIO, best case would be to delay EVERYTHING by about a decade, at best. Things seem to be speeding up, and I don't know if we can stop it.

[theHandpuppet]

40. But hey, at least gays can't get married!!!!

:sarcasm:

[nam78_two]

17. Of course not... they have more important things to talk about

like Tanorexia, American Idol, that Landis guy etc. etc. :sarcasm:
You can't expect those busy people to waste their time on some stupid rain-forest...honestly...these liberals and their unreasonable expectations...:sarcasm:

[City Lights]

19. Or that all important topic -

why politicians appear on The Colbert Report. ;-)

I'm suffering from outrage fatigue over our corporate whore media. x(

[StClone]

6. This will be one for all ages

I once posted on DU that modern man could deliver Earth into a run away Green house effect, though nothing like that of Venus. I consider the decimation of stable carbon sequestering systems (tropical forests and oceanic waters), while at the same time releasing carbon long quiescent, to be unparalleled in the natural course of life on Earth. We are producing a heating that rivals any that have occurred for prehistoric solar maxims, volcanism and Earth/Sun orbital mechanics.

[G2099]

7. Maybe we could grow thousands of Hemp trees to replace the Rain Forest.

[meldroc]

9. Does this mean...

that I should start investing in assless chaps?

[glitch]

14. Yes.

:P Welcome to DU!

[slor]

11. Not to sound stupid...

but this is such scary news, that I was wondering if a massive irrigation plan could mitigate the damage. Anyone with a engineering background care to weigh in?

[autorank]

13. Good work homo sapiens, you blew it. Great post. K&R

[theHandpuppet]

41. Yeah, too bad we're taking every other species with us

It's too late, people.

Look around. You'd think that folks with children today would be terrified at the prospect that the current generation will have no future -- in fact, they have been sentenced to die a horrible death. But no matter! Let's pop out three or four or a dozen more who will gobble up the earth's resources faster than they can be replenished! Let's all hop into our big-ass SUV and go to Wally World after church!

Let's face it -- we refused to limit our runaway population and this is where it all ends. You simply can't address any possible solutions or even stop-gap measures without tackling that sacred cow, HUMAN REPRODUCTION. And since a majority of the world refuses to do anything about the root cause (overpopulation) of the problem (global climate catastrophe), well you can kiss YOUR ass and those of your children a big ADIOS!

[nam78_two]

16. kick, kick, kick, kick, kick

This should be on the greatest page

[Zhade]

22. This should be on the front page of every paper worldwide.

I'm sitting here, thinking about the people sitting near me who may suspect but don't know how severe the crisis is, and wondering if they'll feel as horrified as I do right now when they realize what's coming because of humanity's collective failure (brilliant attempts excluded, of course).

Sucks, too - I finally got to where I LIKED being alive.

[Control-Z]

24. K&R

I try to keep in mind that there is always more to learn and to be discovered. All is not necessarily lost. Hidden, possibly, behind greed and other evils but, hopefully, not lost.

[NMDemDist2]

25. it's not climate change that is the issue with losing the Amazon

it's the fact that most of our oxygen comes from that rainforest

we won't care it's hot if there's no air to breathe

[Control-Z]

26. More than half of our oxygen

comes from phytoplankton, if I'm not mistaken. Not that the rain-forests don't contribute essential oxygen into earth's eco-system.

[NMDemDist2]

34. interesting article here

http://www.truehealth.org/oxydecl.html

Since we have begun to measure in 1989, there has been a steady decline of free oxygen in our atmosphere. And while this is nothing more than expected, since every molecule of additional carbon dioxide locks up two oxygen atoms, the free oxygen decline is greater than the carbon dioxide lock-up.

The greater than expected overall free oxygen decline is proof that the Earth's photosynthetic capacity has declined. And since there has been no measurable decline in plankton, and consequently, in marine photosynthesis, as long expected and measured due to the increase of hard UVB radiation at surface level, the decline points straight at the only other source of free oxygen - the forests and green cover of the continents..... more at link

[windbreeze]

38. and aren't phytoplanktons

those little gadgets that are decreasing at such an accelerated rate that they are causing dead zones, lacking oxygen zones in other words, in the oceans...right now??? and that in turn is causing dead fish, crabs, ect., to wash up on beaches in Oregon, and possibly Wash., next???

We are in so much trouble...it just might be, that it won't matter who's in the wh, down the road a couple years...mother nature getting even will be more than any of us can handle...surviving will consume most of our time and effort...

And didn't I just read how all the crops in the midwest and Calif are scorched and useless...because of the heat? How the citrus crop in Florida is gone...Think food people...staples...those things we take for granted when we go shopping...and how expensive they might be this coming winter...

then there's the business about 5.5 million sq miles of ice pack gone from the Artic...and the large slices of the ice shelf in Antartica, that break off and plug shipping lanes, that caused the Akele penquins so much trouble(B-15?)..and the melting ice around Greenland, that has just about revealed it might be 3 islands instead of one....and how that melting ice around the world causes icequakes, as the earth underneath rebounds from the missing weight...and and and...what about all the fresh water we drink that's contained in missing snow packs, glaciers, etc., what happens when it's all gone?? or when the ocean currents shut down due to massive amounts of fresh water being released into the salt water...the number 1 most important issue we have facing us, IS global warming...

This last week, we had temps up to 111 degrees on my back deck in the shade...for about a week, it was anything from 100 to 106/9 the rest of the time....where??? No not in Arizona...New Mexico...Brazil...So Africa...the Sahara...Death Valley...but in the great PacificNW...
windbreeze

[Control-Z]

50. sounds pretty bleak. I know. n/t

[Joe Bacon]

35. But TV Preachers WANT this to happen so Jesus comes back!

Those fools are in for the shock of their lives when Jesus takes a raincheck on THE GREAT FLOAT OFF!

[Popol Vuh]

42. Fuck it...

You mean its not already uninhabitable?

[Gman]

43. Soon we'll all be living on Tatooine

with Jabba's palace somewhere around Crawford, TX.

[long_green]

61. Cool! I wanna join the Sandpeople

nm

[Gman]

62. Make sure to always walk single file

to hide your numbers.

[Jeroen]

45. And we keep building planes like the Airbus A380…we are doomed /nt

[BrklynLiberal]

46. Kicked and rec'd

[welshTerrier2]

47. many "liberals" seem to think this is an academic exercise

i ran another thread based on this thread that talked about actually making some sacrifices to help with global warming ... the results were extremely depressing ...

my thread talked about putting limits on auto driving ... oh heavens - we can't have any of that ...

it turns out that our biggest problems may not be right-wing freepers but rather libertarians who think progressive politics is all about keeping government from interfering in our "personal freedoms" ...

the poor little dears refuse to give up their cars ... now i understand our whole society has been built around the auto (lousy mass transit systems) and i understand that we are not in a position today to fully implement sharp reductions in driving ... but instead of supporting the goal of reduced greenhouse emissions, these guardians of our civil liberties turn a blind eye to the very real and very tragic risks of global warming ...

[nam78_two]

48. Thank you for that welshterrier2!

I have been thinking the exact same thing for years...
Ever since I have joined the environmental movement, many many years ago, I have noticed that libertarians/objectivists of a certain stripe are often times the biggest problem.

Conservatives aren't actively sympathetic to environmental causes but its the likes of John Stossel, CATO etc. that actively spread myths and lies on these issues.

Many liberals don't seem to realise just how scary and crazy the mainstream libertarians can be when anything seems to be threatening their precious "free markets"

The likes of Bjorn Lomborg, John Stossel etc. are the ones actively disseminating these lies. I have come to really dislike the mainstream libertarian movement. Think about South Park -what pop-culture icon has helped spread the snark and misinfo. about environmental issues as much as those jackasses ("Rainforest Schmainforest", "hybrids", "Manbearpig")...

What makes these people more dangerous than the straight up xtian fundies in some ways is that they can seem more reasonable, sane etc. while propagating so much disinfo. on these issues.

I have for years tried to explain to some of my liberal friends that libertarians are not necessarily on the same page with us. They are usually NUTS on animal welfare/environmental issues. Its a philosophy that seems to lack any sort of compassion for those less fortunate than us, those powerless before us etc. "me me me" thats what at least some of its proponents seem to distill it down to.


The things they are good on-like gay marriage, no govt. spying etc.-well those are stances liberals espouse completely too...

[welshTerrier2]

51. check the "limiting driving" thread

some of the replies provide perfect examples of exactly what you're talking about ...

here's the link: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2747696&mesg_id=2747696

[hatrack]

63. In a way, it reminds me of the First World War

I can't remember the author, but the endless windrows of bodies in the opening months of the war were referred to, in the setting of predictable imperial ambitions and the usual dreams of conquest, as "how God teaches the law to kings".

Setting aside any and all potential metaphysical/religious context in this phrase, the conclusion I've come to is that it'll be something like this - a vast and irrefutable turning, a moment of absolute and bloody clarity to which there will be no response. No amount of tut-tutting or calls for blue-ribbon panels or tax cuts or TV fundraisers or market forces or any of what's worked in the past will work, and those who "lead" us will stand mute and stunned, a batallion of tongue-tied naked emperors.

And by then, of course, it'll be too late, for all but a few of us.

And then Nature will pick up the pieces and come up with something else.

[eviltwin2525]

52. Driving is not a civil liberty

It's a privilege, straight up. Even the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled this, explicitly (sorry, I don't know the case name/number; anybody?). But this privilege has been the subject of the most successful marketing ploy ever to make an entire nation BELIEVE it is a right.
The best-case scenario would be for the looming catastrophe to knock down the human population so far and so fast that it would break the chain of causality before the Venusian runaway model takes hold. I do not hold much hope for this fortuitous outcome, I merely mention it as a possibility, as we are entering completely uncharted territory here. The good news, if there is any, is that a non-greenhouse world with a human population of about half a billion could be a wonderful thing.

[welshTerrier2]

53. exactly!

some of the "how dare you restrict my personal freedom" sound exactly like the "pro gun" people ... except this time there is no second amendment for them to use in debate ...

[nam78_two]

54. yeah seriously....

I agree with you 100%!

[Lorien]

55. It's amazing how some "liberals" suddenly turn into Libertarians when ANY

personal sacrifice is suggested. A year ago a few of us started the Economic Activism and Progressive living group. Not long after, a frugal living group was started for DUers who wanted to save money at places like Wal-mart, and who didn't want think about the political or environmental impact of their choices. Amazing. I live on very little money and I find that living in a sustainable manner and NOT buying "red" if far less expensive than living the standard American "unconscious" lifestyle. Hell, a good friend of mine who has a larger salary and very low living expenses is ALWAYS out of money-mostly because he never plans any trips, so he spends hours and hours driving everywhere because he forgets items or just didn't bother looking at a map. He buys items impulsively-like CDs and DVDs-which he never gets around to listening to or watching. He thinks my careful planning of every car trip and expense is "extreme", and yet he thinks "An inconvenient truth" is a film that everyone should see (yet he hasn't). Talk about a disconnect. Unfortunately, he's not the only one; I see the same instant gratification live for the moment mindset everywhere. It's not "our children" who will pay-it's every generation living NOW. WE will be OUR own undoing.

[nam78_two]

56. great post

You and welshterrier articulate a lot of stuff I have thought about the garden variety "progressives"/"liberals" for a long time now.

Its on environmental issues that the true colors come out :-/...cognitive dissonance anyone?

[Pierzin]

58. Everyone needs to see An Inconvenient Truth!!!

And then they need to learn everything they can to stop this insanity, if it's not already too late.

If you think we had refugee problems before, just wait until whole countrys are underwater! What is America going to do about it? AFter all, AMerica contributes more greenhouse gasses than most other countries combined.

I am really frightened by this - more than the Bush Administration. Either way, we are fu**ed!:scared: :scared: :scared:

[Strelnikov_]

69. "Liberals" Suddenly Turn Into Libertarians When Any Sacrifice Suggested"

Ain't that the truth.

Just try suggesting reducing the speed limit . .

Or a carbon tax . .

Or mandating smaller cars . .

[KitSileya]

67. Yeah, it's one of the surprising things about America.

The fact that everywhere is only reachable by car. I don't have a car, nor do I even have a driver's licence, simply because a, driver's licences are incredibly expensive here in Norway, b, cars and gas are very expensive, and c, I have always lived in towns with good mass transit systems - Trondheim and Bergen, Norway, and Eugene, Oregon(!). I don't need a car, other than for convenience, and I have found that it just isn't worth it. But try to cross the road from one shop to another out by the Gateway mall in Eugene and it amply demonstrates the insanity of American carmania.

Gas here in Norway is NOK11/L - about $6.4 a gallon. Most of that is tax, of course (Norway does have its own oil production) but it is also an attempt to curb automobile use in a country that stretches from 57 degrees to 71 degrees North and has 12.1 people per sq km. That is partly why there's extensive mass transit systems in most if not all cities. In less populated areas people have cars, of course, but some school kids still have to live in dormitories during the week because of distances. The driving age in Norway is 18.

[AnnieBW]

57. We need space stations!

We need to start building some space stations! We give the Israelis one, the Palestinians one (out of bombing range of the Israeli one), the Shiite Muslims one, the Sunni Moslems a couple, the Sri Lankan Tamils one, etc. Everybody's happy.

[Danascot]

60. Global Warming is Killing the World's Coral Reefs

I started diving at age 8. 50 years laters I'm still a diver and my son has taken up the sport. But within his lifetime, by the time he is 45, the beautiful, magical, alien worlds that are coral reefs will all be gone. They've existed for 60 million years but they will cease to exist in less than 30 more. Even if radical steps were started today it is already too late. Corals die with a temperature rise of only a degree or two and in many parts of the world, the oceans have warmed that much already. Only one of many horrific tragedies that human folly will visit on the planet in the near future.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/422759.stm

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/05/warming-coral.html

http://www.theage.com.au/news/general/icons-under-threat-great-barrier-reef/2005/11/17/1132016868241.html

[Lorien]

64. K&R

Too important to let it drop.

[The Anti-Neo Con]

65. The heat is just getting worse.

I could imagine in 40-50 years, the entire Northern hemisphere will be dealing with deadly heat waves from March through November.

Maybe the people who can survive it long enough will have to colonize Antarctica, which will probably become a temperate zone someday.

[Javaman]

68. Humanities epitaph, "we pissed it away". nt