David 2d ago

I have these two sentences stuck in my head these days:

A French minister: we need to prepare ourselves for a future when temperatures are 4°C higher.

A climate scientist: with a rise of 4°C above pre-industrial age, up to 90% of the world's population may die.

(edit: muting the post, it's going way beyond its intended audience, I'd like to be able to see notifications about other things. thanks you all for sharing)

#ClimateCrisis #Climate #ClimateEmergency

Show threadCubeRootOfTrue2d ago
@David That's assuming 90% of the population sit idly by while the coastline moves inland. That won't happen
Show threadBeldarak2d ago

@CubeRootOfTrue @David

There is always the possibility to move underground too. Life will always find a path (not saying this is a path I want though :S)

Show threadeswillwalker2d ago
@Beldarak @CubeRootOfTrue @David Yes, it’s true that life will find a way, but it won’t be human life.
Show threadCubeRootOfTrue
@ELS @Beldarak @David I always wondered if humans could genetically engineer chloroplasts to live in skin. Then you could just go outside for lunch (I have a feeling it's not easy being green)
Jun 15 at 4:40pmWeb
Show threadCubeRootOfTrue2d ago
@ELS @Beldarak @David Homo Verdant #homoverdant
Show threadBeldarak2d ago

@CubeRootOfTrue @ELS @David

Doesn't any new capacity comes with a cost? Like we sleep a lot because we're big animals with a complex digestive system? :P

Show threadeswillwalker2d ago
@CubeRootOfTrue @Beldarak @David New symbioses may take many generations for the host to evolve systems for managing the symbionts. Evolution often involves lots of death, although could occur via reduced reproductive capacity of the unfit individuals. It’s not a fun process. In any case, chloroplasts in your skin would not be useful if you lived underground to avoid blasted climate above.
Show threadclew2d ago

This is a really fun envelope calculation to do but — working out how much photosynthesized energy it takes to keep a mammal alive, we’d have to be aquatic and sessile. Lake weeds, basically. And that’s making a LOT of optimistic rounding.

@CubeRootOfTrue @ELS @Beldarak @David