Ed HawkinsApr 22, 2023

Yes, the climate has always changed.

But, the speed of recent change is unprecedented.

More importantly, we understand why.

Burning fossil fuels & deforestation adds carbon dioxide to the atmosphere which warms the planet.

Simple physics. Understood for more than a century.

#EarthDay

Show threadRickTimmisApr 22, 2023
@ed_hawkins What explains the Cambrian period, where CO2 was higher, climate was warmer, and Flora, and Fauna thrived. Including many giant species. Don't get me wrong, pollution and our lack of response to it is disappointing. Surely, that motivates us to really nail down our science. Hypothesis is support by observation until just one observation breaches the hypothesis. It seems we have many breaches, so I am struggling to remain convinced by the science.
Show threadGeo
@RickTimmis @ed_hawkins What do you mean? Back in the Cambrium, no life existed on land yet. Did you mix it up with another period? CO2 levels have been higher in the past - but the change has never been as abrupt, and we humans were never alive. Also, what breach do you mean?
Apr 22, 2023 at 6:57pmWeb
Show threadRickTimmisApr 22, 2023

@Geo @ed_hawkins
Apologies I meant the Holocene, also called the Flambrian period.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocene

The breached I am talking about are the modelling. We have had several predictions including it's going to get cold (1970's) This makes me question the quality of the science. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying we should not be responsible and take good care of our world 🌎.

I guess I just want there to be an open dialogue, of discovery and, where we are united, rather than divided.

Holocene - Wikipedia

Show threadGeoApr 22, 2023
@RickTimmis @ed_hawkins The prediction that the future would be colder than the present from the 1970's is exactly that - it's from the Seventies, climate change only has been widely understood since the 1980's. Since then, the models have become more and more accurate. And by now, effects are easily visible just from data gathered in the last decades, without any models involved.
Show threadRickTimmisApr 22, 2023
@Geo @ed_hawkins Well OK, but I'm still scratching my head when I watch the daily weather forecast. Probability would be just as good. I just worry that in our Race to Slow the rate of carbon generation, we bring about something much worse. Wiping massive swages of land out of agriculture to deploy solar panels, for example.
I think we need a collective mindset to simplify our lives, and reduce consumption. This is not the same as a global agenda on carbon. 🥰