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Re:The only thing we should be talking about is the climate ... by cogman10 on Friday April 08, 2022 @11:03AM (#30957904)
The big issue with climate change is it's gradual.

There will never be a point where "Oh shit, everything has exploded!". Instead, it will be every year that deserts will get bigger, it will rain a little less, and a few more extreme weather events happen.

This will happen just a little bit more year by year.

There won't really be a point where you can say "This was the year climate change became really bad!" instead it will take looking at the current state and comparing it to the year 2000 or 1980 or whatever. And by that time, you've got a full generation that does not remember what those years were like.

That's the thing that scares me the most about climate change. It won't be something that will hurt all at once, instead it will just be a steady increase of bad events. And by the time it becomes unworkable, it's too late.

Re:The only thing we should be talking about is the climate ... by titzer on Friday April 08, 2022 @11:07AM (#30958015)
This. You've hit on the "shifting baseline" phenomena[1]. We cannot remember what our grandparents experienced in their daily lives.

I'll add the ongoing extinction crisis that is picking up steam, itself a knock-on effect of us gobbling up all land resources and also climate change, and pollutants. I remember days in the park in the 1980s where the air would be filled with bees and insects of all kinds. The insects are so few and far between. Like, I don't even see moths swarming around streetlights anymore. It's eerie.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shifting_baseline

Re:The only thing we should be talking about is the climate ... by cogman10 on Friday April 08, 2022 @11:21AM (#30958278)
Oh yeah, in just my 36 years of life, I've seen things change pretty drastically and have seen family videos for stuff I don't remember.

When I was born, my hometown would regularly see around 10ft of snow (I've seen the videos).

During my childhood, that reduced down to around 2->5 ft of snow.

Now, my home town is lucky to see 2->3 inches of snow.

This drought has caused major issues for a town that was built around farming. It's driven them to pull more water from the aquifer which itself has been in pretty rapid decline. Everyone just keeps drilling deeper and deeper pumps (30ft used to be enough, now 100+ft is what people are drilling).

These sorts of slow moving collapses are terrifying to watch. And, at the same time, infuriating to hear the deniers throughout my life claim it's a hoax/not real.

Re:The only thing we should be talking about is the climate ... by haunter on Friday April 08, 2022 @11:31AM (#30958473)
>There will never be a point where "Oh shit, everything has exploded!

Never say never

The Clathrate gun hypothesis pretty much about this where inside one human generation the temperatures can rise beyond any expactations

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clathrate_gun_hypothesis

See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_methane_emissions

Re:The only thing we should be talking about is the climate ... by abnry on Friday April 08, 2022 @11:23AM (#30958341)
I look at it the other way. Because it is gradual, we have much more time to adapt. We may miss out seeing how we've made improvements because those improvements are also gradual.