This is terrifying:

[applegrove]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.mic.com/p/14000-scientists-warn-of-untold-suffering-if-we-fail-to-act-on-climate-change-82642062/amp

Sorry I could not cut and paste.

[NewHendoLib]

1. first four paragraphs below

There are some phrases that should stop you in your tracks. The warning of a future that holds "untold suffering" is one of them. That is exactly what scientists from around the world are cautioning will happen if we don't take the threat of climate change seriously. In a paper published Wednesday in the journal BioScience, more than 14,000 scientists from 153 countries signed their name to research that warns of an incoming climate emergency.

The paper, led by researchers from Oregon State University, uses 31 different planetary variables that tell us how Earth is holding up in the face of humanity's insistence on draining natural resources and pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The list of checks includes surface temperature levels, rainforest health, and glacial ice levels, along with directly human-controlled factors like the health of the global economy and the availability of fossil fuel subsidies.

If you think of each of those indicators as a vital organ in the Earth's body, you won't be thrilled to hear that a majority of those organs are careening toward failure. According to the paper, 18 of the 31 indicators have reached record levels — and these are not records that we should be trying to break. The density of glacial ice is at its lowest in more than 70 years, according to the report. Meanwhile, greenhouse gas emissions have peaked to an all-time high, despite appearing to have leveled off in 2019 and even experiencing a drastic (albeit short-lived) drop off during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. That's not likely to change, even as increasingly more countries pledge to decrease emissions. Experts have warned that, even with goals of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, greenhouse gas emissions will likely continue to rise through at least 2040.

Over on the social side of the equation, we aren't doing ourselves any favors, either — though there are at least some signs of hope. The scientists found that the world is richer than it has ever been, as indicated by global gross domestic product. Then again, it's also as polluted as it has ever been, with some of the highest levels of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide concentrations ever recorded in the atmosphere.

snip

[applegrove]

2. Thanks. I'm on my cell phone and sometimes it just doesn't work to cut and paste.

[NewHendoLib]

3. any time!

[applegrove]

4. Tks.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

5. "The density of glacial ice is at its lowest in more than 70 years, according to the report"

I'm always annoyed by blurbs like this in articles.

There is literally zero chance that the density of glacial ice was lower 71 years ago than it is now, nor at any time remotely close to only 71 years in the past.

I am 100% certain that the 70 year mark is simply 'the earliest for which we have reliable data' and therefore we don't 100% know what it was like before 70 years ago. But I guarantee scientists are still quite certain we're at the lowest glacial density that's been seen in 100's if not 1000's of years.

Just wanted to say that.

Thanks, reading it now.

[teach1st]

7. Report from LiveScience clarifies it....

...while glacial ice thickness is at its lowest point in 71 years of record keeping, the report found.

https://www.livescience.com/earth-vital-signs-climate-change-suffering.html

[Hugh_Lebowski]

8. THERE WE GO!

That is a BIG difference in meaning.

[Kittycatkat]

6. The human race is a blight on the planet earth. Mother Nature will, as George Carlin put it,

"shake us off like a bad case of fleas."

[JoeOtterbein]

9. The end of the original report the article is based on:

A final word
On the basis of recent trends in planetary vital signs, we reaffirm the climate emergency declaration and again call for transformative change, which is needed now more than ever to protect life on Earth and remain within as many planetary boundaries as possible. The speed of change is essential, and new climate policies should be part of COVID-19 recovery plans. We must now join together as a global community with a shared sense of urgency, cooperation, and equity.

[applegrove]

10. Thanks.

[JoeOtterbein]

11. No problem...

...After reading the report I'm still feeling, kinda like you said, "terrified" for my children and grandchildren and anyone else who is still alive by then.

Thank you for the OP.

[applegrove]

12. Yes. I hope the report gets coverage. I am glad I don't have children. I'd

be terrified too.

[LT Barclay]

13. It is beyond terrifying.

I just perused my wife's facebook and I'm embarassed to be related to my family. They're still hoping Trump will be back, denying COVID, knocking BLM movement, laughing at liberals, blah, blah, blah and yet:

[NJCher]

14. something we could do right now

recall how quickly air quality improved when everyone stayed home during Covid?

recall how, decades ago, there was a gas crisis and there were odd/even days? If your license plate ended in an odd number you could be on the road, the next day it was even numbers. If "everyone" staying home is too tough a nut to crack, why not odd/even?

Recall how the animals came out? How the skies cleared? How the people dying of Covid was somewhat offset by the people who weren't dying of respiratory illnesses?

What about that?

If we did this and other nations could follow suit, we could make a huge impact on it right now.

-------------

Another point: I live in a suburban blue area. We know the American lawn is a big polluter and so many much more intelligent things could be done with that lawn space: like plant half of it in ornamentals or if you so desire, plant vegetables. This is land use practice and it could be changed with just a little effort.

But instead what you have here are these horrible lawn businesses that drag lawnmowers and leaf blowers around.

I had a student who worked at a gas station and he told the class that anytime those lawn service guys showed up it was a $300+ total. And what's the point of dragging these machines around, anyway?

No one in this Democratic area, however, has done anything about this, despite the many articles and the knowledge that this is a big problem. With cars you at least have catalytic converters: these leaf blower machines put out as much pollution in an hour as is put out by a car driving halfway across the country!

And don't tell me to go do it: I already did it in one town and it cost me four years of my time. Yes, my grassroots group and I were successful but despite getting dozens of calls from people in towns who wanted to do the same thing, the political organization is so difficult that no other town has done what we did (ban gas powered leaf blowers and encourage the planting of vegetation different than lawn).

[burrowowl]

15. K&R! Wake up!

[kyburbonkid]

16. Cold and realistic..

Modifying human behavior to affect climate change will be mankind's greatest challenge. It is like breaking an addiction. We need transportation, we need to heat our homes, we need food in our refrigerators... etc etc. However, do we need coal, oil, or even gas-fired electric generators on the grid? Do we need internal combustion engines (ICE) for personal transportation? Do we need oil pipelines, or diesel or gas to run industry? There is a long transition process we all need to make and the best thing right now is to do your part. Get an electric mower, even rider mowers are now electric, buy an EV. Look at solar for your home. Invest in solar for your community. Join the wind farmers and put up generators on your land. Recycle old strip minds with wind farms, or even solar farms. Energy is not the issue with climate change... CO2, Methane, and a few other greenhouse nasties are the issue.

Now the bad news; CO2 is long term and will be in the atmosphere ~1500years. Methane ~15years... We may be at the methane release tipping point with climate change in the northern hemisphere releasing gigatons of methane trapped in the permafrost of Canada, and Russia. All and all, climate change looks bleak. It really does require an all-hands-on-deck kind of effort and fortunately, I think people are just now getting the message.