Ecodharma: large companies are failing to meet claims of carbon reduction (article)

[Ryumon]

I think 500 years is quite optimistic.

I've read enough science fiction to think that total extinction of humans is unlikely; near the poles, the earth will still be livable. And while the overall temperature will not decrease quickly once billions of people are gone, once enough plants take back the towns and cities, CO2 will go down pretty fast and start a cooling trend. Humankind has survived many ice ages; the species can survive this. There just won't be wi-fi.

Gassho,

Ryūmon (Kirk)

sat

[Kokuu]

You are probably right, Ryūmon, but, as you suggest, a massive population crash seems pretty much inevitable at this point.

However, I do have a fear for the planet becoming totally unliveable for pretty much all higher organisms based on what might happen to nuclear reactors and processing sites in the result of a catastrophic drop of population together with a failure of electricity supplies.

Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday-

[Naiko]

Thank you, Kokuu. I wish I was surprised by this report.
Gassho,
Naiko
st

[Jishin]

You are probably right, Ryūmon, but, as you suggest, a massive population crash seems pretty much inevitable at this point.

However, I do have a fear for the planet becoming totally unliveable for pretty much all higher organisms based on what might happen to nuclear reactors and processing sites in the result of a catastrophic drop of population together with a failure of electricity supplies.

Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday-

I agree with your assessment.

Gassho, Jishin, ST, LAH

[Daitetsu]

Hi Ryūmon,

I've read enough science fiction to think that total extinction of humans is unlikely; near the poles, the earth will still be livable. And while the overall temperature will not decrease quickly once billions of people are gone, once enough plants take back the towns and cities, CO2 will go down pretty fast and start a cooling trend. Humankind has survived many ice ages; the species can survive this. There just won't be wi-fi.

It depends on how you define the word fast. AFAIK CO2 stays in the atmosphere for quite a long time. It will take several 100 years to get back to normal.
The loss of ice at the poles is probably irreversible.

(http://www.acamedia.info/sciences/sc.../residence.htm)

We should not leave out the Ice-albedo feedback out of the equation either: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice–albedo_feedback

Ice is very reflective, therefore some of the solar energy is reflected back to space. Ice–albedo feedback plays an important role in global climate change.[1] For instance, at higher latitudes, warmer temperatures melt the ice sheets.[2] However, if warm temperatures decrease the ice cover and the area is replaced by water or land, the albedo would decrease. This increases the amount of solar energy absorbed, leading to more warming.

It's like a spiral...

I don't know how big the effect of plants overgrowing towns/cities will be though and what the time span of that cooling trend would be.
I'd prefer finding a solution to avoid this instead of having to find out.

Gassho,

大哲

#sat2day