Some of the unease that people feel about climate change comes from a sense that things are out of our control — that the climate is changing faster than we can adapt. However, many of the most dire risks lie not with the most likely outcomes but the worst-case possibilities, for example, the collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet, or the drying up of the Amazon and other potential tipping points. But there is a lot we don’t know about if or when those tipping points will come to pass.
Weather forecast research for extreme weather has been based on approximately seven-year cycles to produce reports that summarize the evolving science about long-term changes in climate. The data that went into the latest round of climate model simulations are based on observations that only run through 2014. Last year was much hotter than predicted. There is a gap between what is needed and what is available.
And hopefully our new leaders will take the immediate future of our planet seriously.
Definition of a tipping point: According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), tipping points are ‘critical thresholds in a system that, when exceeded, can lead to a significant change in the state of the system, often with an understanding that the change is irreversible.
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Breaking news: President Biden is pardoning nearly 1,500 Americans, a record for one day. (A number of these are reportedly on Trump's hit list once he is president). He has also pardoned his son Hunter. I am glad he and the vice president were polite during the official meetings with the new regime, but I'm also encouraged to see them fighting fire with fire about more elemental things. ______________ Today, Erin Reed shared her latest update to her map of anti-transgender risk. The map is well known among activists and transgender people. It shows risks both by state and at the national level. Overall, the news is absolutely not good.
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