Our previous episode of Edge of Knowledge traveled back a few billion years to explore the origins of life on Earth, but now we're aiming our lens in a different direction. Rather than looking to the distant past to see how life began, this episode looks to the near future, specifically, how Earth's climate could change over the next few decades.
First, let's get rid of this inconvenient truth: anthropogenic climate change, or human-caused climate change, is a well-established science. The evidence is overwhelming and the attempts to refute it are incomplete, flawed or fabricated. The questions we need to answer, as Paul points out in the video, are not "Is this even happening?" or "Does something need to be done?" The questions we now face are "How bad is it going to get?" and "What exactly do we have to do?"
This episode of Edge of Knowledge focuses on our rapidly transforming world.
Dr. Paul Sutter explains how difficult it is to go to Mars and then live there
The Earth itself is a complex stack of systems that all interact with each other, and climate change is altering the balance of these systems. As these systems seek to rebalance, Earth's climate changes in direct response - ocean current patterns change, which affects the temperature and weather patterns we experience on land (remember, for example, that the the UK's temperate climate derives much of this temperance from the Gulf Stream current - if that changes or changes, the UK would become a much less pleasant place to live). Melting polar ice will cause sea levels to rise, and thawing permafrost could also release more trapped carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Rising air and ocean temperatures lead to more powerful tropical cyclones, which devastate coastal communities.
Note:- official websites Paul Sutter walks us through the future of climate change—and things aren’t great.
There are deceptively simple answers. Clearly, a broad reduction in greenhouse gas emissions would be a big step forward, but "just reduce greenhouse gas emissions" isn't exactly helpful advice - it's like saying the best way to cure cancer is to stop getting cancer. Global greenhouse gas emission levels are linked to the domestic and foreign policy decisions of most countries on the planet and are determined less by individual choices than by the interaction of large economic systems. interdependent of humanity. As a species, we are still dependent on the elements that underpin climate change, as many of these elements are responsible for our transformation from agricultural economies to industrial economies to information economies.
There's a long way to go and a lot of ground to cover here. And we have three more episodes of Edge of Knowledge, where we'll be tackling more existential-type questions. Stay tuned!
