Year of Climate Change - the tipping point

[JamesR]

It is starting to feel like the global warming has hit the tipping point, and is now accelerating.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-austr ... SKBN13O059
- 2/3 of the largest coral reef in the world has died off in the last 9 months.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... scientists
- The Arctic is 36 C degrees warmer than it should be this year.

[cmonkey]

Just to clarify -

Warm seas around Australia's Great Barrier Reef have killed two-thirds of a 700-km (435 miles) stretch of coral in the past nine months

the size of the Barrier Reef, which at 348,000 sq km (134,400 sq miles) is the biggest coral reef in the world

291 miles is only .2% of the entire size of the reef.

It's still sad but lets not exaggerate.


Edit - You know, maybe this is the kinda of thing we need to reverse this. People believe fake news so much, just scare the shit out of them with sensationalist news about the world dying off.

[chenda]

It's not clear to me from the article if 'stretch' refers to surface area or a length of reef of unspecified depth.

[Tyler9000]

Just to clarify -

Warm seas around Australia's Great Barrier Reef have killed two-thirds of a 700-km (435 miles) stretch of coral in the past nine months

291 miles is only .2% of the entire size of the reef.

Well, comparing length to area isn't necessarily realistic, either. But still, it's safe to say that they're using Anchorman-level math. 60% of the time, it works every time!

Edit - You know, maybe this is the kinda of thing we need to reverse this. People believe fake news so much, just scare the shit out of them with sensationalist news about the world dying off.

Nah -- I think it's the opposite. Scientific sensationalism only serves to discredit science when it really matters.

[theanimal]

JamesR- I'm starting to think the same thing. We may be seeing more and more drastic effects from here on out.

[Papers of Indenture]

I follow a level headed, non alarmist group on arctic climate and the sea ice extent this season has basically been a dagger through their hearts and they are entering an intense coping stage.

[JamesR]

Warm seas around Australia's Great Barrier Reef have killed two-thirds of a 700-km (435 miles) stretch of coral in the past nine months

Whoops, I did read that part and then promptly only remembered the two-thirds part. I guess the 700-km stretch was what the scientists looked at specifically, and that's the same spot they looked at the previous 9 months. So the question becomes - how well is the rest of the reef doing?


Another bit of news perhaps:
http://news.yale.edu/2016/11/30/losses- ... -emissions
- Losses of soil carbon under global warming might equal U.S. emissions

[chenda]

A sharp shock is what's needed to silence skeptics and spur more action.