mass tree death prompts fears of amazon 'climate tipping point'

[bcbm]

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Environment/Pix/columnists/2011/2/2/1296672354226/Drought-Effects-In-Manaus-007.jpg Aerial view of a drought-affected area within the Amazon basin in Manaus, Brazil. Photograph: Rodrigo Baleia/LatinContent/Getty Images

Billions of trees died in the record drought that struck the Amazon in 2010 (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/26/amazon-drought-tributary-rio-negro-climate-change), raising fears that the vast forest is on the verge of a tipping point, where it will stop absorbing greenhouse gas emissions and instead increase them.


The dense forests (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/forests) of the Amazon soak up more than one-quarter of the world's atmospheric carbon, making it a critically important buffer against global warming. But if the Amazon switches from a carbon sink to a carbon source that prompts further droughts and mass tree deaths, such a feedback loop could cause runaway climate change (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/climate-change), with disastrous consequences.

continued:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/feb/03/tree-deaths-amazon-climate

[The Vegan Marxist]

That really is scary to see. :(

[Delirium]

I hope its not true. If we are this close to the tipping point there may be nothing we can do. It doesn't seem like we can adress all the environmental damages that are contributing to this in time to make a difference. Even with global socialist revolution tomorrow it might not matter. The biosphere is a complex system though, and im no climate scientist.

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

Oh, for a world which makes plans longer than the next election cycle or financial year...

[bcbm]

It doesn't seem like we can adress all the environmental damages that are contributing to this in time to make a difference. Even with global socialist revolution tomorrow it might not matter.

basically, yeah.

[Broletariat]

So uhh... are we just fucked then? >_>

[bcbm]

time will tell, but i think we could likely be in for a rough time the next few decades.

[Broletariat]

time will tell, but i think we could likely be in for a rough time the next few decades.

That's kind of a downer.

[bcbm]

yeah but crises always bring the opportunity for change. obviously this can be for the better or the worse, but i think it gives at least a shot at "better"

[Broletariat]

yeah but crises always bring the opportunity for change. obviously this can be for the better or the worse, but i think it gives at least a shot at "better"


What is the shot at better exactly? O_o

[The Vegan Marxist]

yeah but crises always bring the opportunity for change. obviously this can be for the better or the worse, but i think it gives at least a shot at "better"

Change is inevitable, it seems. The question isn't whether change'll come, but rather if said change will come soon enough. I believe there's still a possibility today, but in the next decade or so? I'm not sure. :(

[Quail]

This thread isn't depressing at all.

My fear about climate change is that any changes that do happen are going to be "too little too late." I have no faith in any politicians to do anything meaningful about the environment, either. The only way we can hope to live sustainably is if we get rid of capitalism.

[Technocrat]

My opinion is that we are headed for a massive die-off (80%) of people within the next few decades. People are programmed to respond to environmental cues and unfortunately, our modern civilization creates a huge disconnect between people's daily activities and the effect of those activities on the earth's life support systems. This means we are not likely to do anything until the crisis is already upon us. Climate change is the kind of problem that requires decades of preparation. The sad thing is that intelligent people have seen this coming for decades, but they were ignored. Humans could very well alter the climate to the point where the planet is no longer suitable for human life (http://www.amazon.com/Under-Green-Sky-Warming-Extinctions/dp/006113791X), and go extinct.

[The Vegan Marxist]

My opinion is that we are headed for a massive die-off (80%) of people within the next few decades. People are programmed to respond to environmental cues and unfortunately, our modern civilization creates a huge disconnect between people's daily activities and the effect of those activities on the earth's life support systems. This means we are not likely to do anything until the crisis is already upon us. Climate change is the kind of problem that requires decades of preparation. The sad thing is that intelligent people have seen this coming for decades, but they were ignored.

That or nature will respond and kill us all off. Can anyone say "The Happening (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Happening_(2008_film)#Plot)"?

[Technocrat]

That or nature will respond and kill us all off. Can anyone say "The Happening (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Happening_%282008_film%29#Plot)"?

I added a link after you responded that you might be interested in. It's possible we could warm the oceans enough that they start to produce significant amounts of hydrogen sulfide gas, which is deadly to plants and animals. In fact, this has occurred many times in the past without our help - climate change is the primary cause of extinction level events. Actually, all previous extinction level events (where 99% of life has been wiped out) were caused by climate change. Even the extinction of the dinosaurs was caused by climate change, though in that case the altered climate was caused by an asteroid impact. I think there is a high chance humans could go extinct. We aren't like bacteria or cockroaches that can survive a nuclear holocaust. We're pretty fragile compared to other lifeforms.

[The Vegan Marxist]

I added a link after you responded that you might be interested in. It's possible we could warm the oceans enough that they start to produce significant amounts of hydrogen sulfide gas, which is deadly to plants and animals. In fact, this has occurred many times in the past without our help - climate change is the primary cause of extinction level events. Actually, all previous extinction level events (where 99% of life has been wiped out) were caused by climate change. Even the extinction of the dinosaurs was caused by climate change, though in that case the altered climate was caused by an asteroid impact. I think there is a high chance humans could go extinct. We aren't like bacteria or cockroaches that can survive a nuclear holocaust. We're pretty fragile compared to other lifeforms.

Thanks, just added it to my cart. Will get it paid for in the next week or so.

[Hoplite]

So uhh... are we just fucked then? >_>
Not as much as one might think.

Phytoplankton in the world's bodies of water are responsible for a little over half of the oxygen production in the world. The forests are important, but we can survive losing a lot more of them than we think. Not that we should tolerate it, but we do have some breathing room.

That said, at the rate we're polluting our water, we're killing off phytoplankton at record rates. So...yeah we might actually be pretty fucked.

[The Vegan Marxist]

Not as much as one might think.

Phytoplankton in the world's bodies of water are responsible for a little over half of the oxygen production in the world. The forests are important, but we can survive losing a lot more of them than we think. Not that we should tolerate it, but we do have some breathing room.

That said, at the rate we're polluting our water, we're killing off phytoplankton at record rates. So...yeah we might actually be pretty fucked.

lol, a person could turn bipolar by just reading your post. I ended up going through two stages of feelings reading this. First I was happy, then I went through depression.

[bcbm]

What is the shot at better exactly? O_o

the current geo-political arrangement will be severely strained if even a small portion of predictions for climate change come to pass, which may give humanity an opening through which to pursue something besides capitalism.


Change is inevitable, it seems. The question isn't whether change'll come, but rather if said change will come soon enough. I believe there's still a possibility today, but in the next decade or so? I'm not sure. :(

at this point i think we need to start facing the reality of "dealing with the next stage of the catastrophe" rather than "stopping climate change," unfortunately.

[Broletariat]

Dammit this thread depresses me, I wanted to grow old with my SO, I'm young dammit this aint cool.

[Technocrat]

the current geo-political arrangement will be severely strained if even a small portion of predictions for climate change come to pass, which may give humanity an opening through which to pursue something besides capitalism.



at this point i think we need to start facing the reality of "dealing with the next stage of the catastrophe" rather than "stopping climate change," unfortunately.

I agree. At this point we cannot "solve" the problem of climate change - the damage has already been done. The best we can hope for is "mitigation."