Of course climate change is 'real'. I don't think anyone here is claiming the climate is not changing (as it has always done).
The real question is how much of that change is natural and how much is caused by humans. Nobody knows the answer.
Quote:
Scientists working in South China have pinpointed the timing of the Earth's most dramatic extinction, an event that killed 96 per cent of all marine species, and 70 per cent of those on land.
Their findings show that the so-called end-Permian mass extinction, sometimes referred to as the 'Great Dying', peaked just before 252 million years ago, and took place very quickly, over a period of less than 200,000 years.
This precise timing should help scientists settle the contentious issue of what exactly stripped so much biodiversity from the face of the planet, says study author Sam Bowring, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
"What we have done is to establish a very high precision temporal framework in which to have the conversation about what caused the mass extinction," says Bowring.
The team's findings are published in the journal Science this week.
Other researchers have proposed several mechanisms for the extinctions, including an asteroid impact, an enormous volcanic event, or a shift in ocean circulation driven by climate change.
But so far, no hypothesis has gained widespread support among scientists. One obstacle has been a lack of precise information about the timing and length of the event.
Zircon dating Bowring and Chinese colleagues used a technique known as uranium-lead zircon dating to make their calculations. This method compares the ratios of different forms of lead and uranium in zircon crystals formed in magma below the Earth's crust just before a volcano erupts.
"People have been dating zircon for a long time, but as we get better and better at our methods we can start using it to use it to interrogate Earth's history at high resolution," Bowring says.
Other evidence gathered by the researchers revealed for the first time that the terrestrial and marine extinctions in the Great Dying occurred at the same time.
"That means that whatever it was, it caused extinction in both marine and terrestrial realms," says Bowring.
They also found layers of rock rich in charcoal and soot, indicating widespread wildfires on land coinciding with the extinction event.
Together these pieces of evidence may not provide a definitive answer to the mystery of the end-Permian extinction, but they do offer important clues, the researchers conclude.
"Our data on the timing and pace of the end-Permian mass extinction are consistent with rapid CO2 increase as indicated by distinct paleophysiologic effects of the ecosystem, a sharp drop in O2 and substantial addition of atmospheric sulphate-bearing aerosols," they write.
"These critical inputs could have resulted in an increase in continental aridity by rapid global warming, which caused widespread wildfires and accelerated deforestation in the world. Rapid deforestation further enhanced the continental weathering and finally resulted in a catastrophic soil-erosion."
So you that's your bottom line. Deal breaker for you?
Not sure what 'deal' we're talking about. I don't think climate change can be prevented, and I think it would be better to spend money adapting to the inevitable changes, rather than vainly attempting to prevent them. I do think we should reduce our pollution of the environment where possible, but we should do that for measurable reasons such as improving air quality, acid raid, salinity, water quality etc... not for some airy fairy impossible to measure goal like 'reducing climate change'.
Not sure what 'deal' we're talking about. I don't think climate change can be prevented, and I think it would be better to spend money adapting to the inevitable changes, rather than vainly attempting to prevent them. I do think we should reduce our pollution of the environment where possible, but we should do that for measurable reasons such as improving air quality, acid raid, salinity, water quality etc.
So you believe it is possible for humans to prevent the Earth's climate from changing?
Well, there are folks working on it. A couple of years ago I saw an intriguing TED presentation on Geoengineering from a fellow in the field. I think this is the one here:
IIRC he seems a little over optimistic, but still worth a look.
Apart from the stuff he talks about, there has been a raft of ideas and research on increasing the albedo of the oceans, promoting algea blooms to lock up carbon, taking limestone from South Australia and dumping it into the sea (reducing the PH of the sea and allowing it to absorb more CO2), and a bunch of other stuff.
Much falls into the "what could possibly go wrong" category, but yes there is likely to be some available tools if things get too bad.
Australian Property Forum is an economics and finance forum dedicated to discussion of Australian and global real estate markets and macroeconomics, including house prices, housing affordability, and the likelihood of a property crash. Is there an Australian housing bubble? Will house prices crash, boom or stagnate? Is the Australian property market a pyramid scheme or Ponzi scheme? Can house prices really rise forever? These are the questions we address on Australian Property Forum, the premier real estate site for property bears, bulls, investors, and speculators. Members may also discuss matters related to finance, modern monetary theory (MMT), debt deflation, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin Ethereum and Ripple, property investing, landlords, tenants, debt consolidation, reverse home equity loans, the housing shortage, negative gearing, capital gains tax, land tax and macro prudential regulation.
Forum Rules:
The main forum may be used to discuss property, politics, economics and finance, precious metals, crypto currency, debt management, generational divides, climate change, sustainability, alternative energy, environmental topics, human rights or social justice issues, and other topics on a case by case basis. Topics unsuitable for the main forum may be discussed in the lounge. You agree you won't use this forum to post material that is illegal, private, defamatory, pornographic, excessively abusive or profane, threatening, or invasive of another forum member's privacy. Don't post NSFW content. Racist or ethnic slurs and homophobic comments aren't tolerated. Accusing forum members of serious crimes is not permitted. Accusations, attacks, abuse or threats, litigious or otherwise, directed against the forum or forum administrators aren't tolerated and will result in immediate suspension of your account for a number of days depending on the severity of the attack. No spamming or advertising in the main forum. Spamming includes repeating the same message over and over again within a short period of time. Don't post ALL CAPS thread titles. The Advertising and Promotion Subforum may be used to promote your Australian property related business or service. Active members of the forum who contribute regularly to main forum discussions may also include a link to their product or service in their signature block. Members are limited to one actively posting account each. A secondary account may be used solely for the purpose of maintaining a blog as long as that account no longer posts in threads. Any member who believes another member has violated these rules may report the offending post using the report button.
Australian Property Forum complies with ASIC Regulatory Guide 162 regarding Internet Discussion Sites. Australian Property Forum is not a provider of financial advice. Australian Property Forum does not in any way endorse the views and opinions of its members, nor does it vouch for for the accuracy or authenticity of their posts. It is not permitted for any Australian Property Forum member to post in the role of a licensed financial advisor or to post as the representative of a financial advisor. It is not permitted for Australian Property Forum members to ask for or offer specific buy, sell or hold recommendations on particular stocks, as a response to a request of this nature may be considered the provision of financial advice.
Views expressed on this forum are not representative of the forum owners. The forum owners are not liable or responsible for comments posted. Information posted does not constitute financial or legal advice. The forum owners accept no liability for information posted, nor for consequences of actions taken on the basis of that information. By visiting or using this forum, members and guests agree to be bound by the Zetaboards Terms of Use.
This site may contain copyright material (i.e. attributed snippets from online news reports), the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such content is posted to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific, and social justice issues. This constitutes 'fair use' of such copyright material as provided for in section 107 of US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed for research and educational purposes only. If you wish to use this material for purposes that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Such material is credited to the true owner or licensee. We will remove from the forum any such material upon the request of the owners of the copyright of said material, as we claim no credit for such material.
Privacy Policy: Australian Property Forum uses third party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our site. These third party advertising companies may collect and use information about your visits to Australian Property Forum as well as other web sites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here: Google Advertising Privacy FAQ
Australian Property Forum is hosted by Zetaboards. Please refer also to the Zetaboards Privacy Policy
