Are we all doomed? A climate scientist weighs in.

Climate change questions answered.
Q1: Will climate change wipe out humanity?
Anyone who claims this with any certainty is not looking at the science. What does the science say? Climate change is scary, but we're still well within the realm where our efforts can prevent the worst outcomes. We need to transition to a low-carbon future, the sooner the better.

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[watamatafoyu]

Imagine getting into a field you love, seeing a bunch of horrific data, then after saying what it means, being told you're pushing a hoax.

[RBEmpathy]

I think the biggest critique that I have of your optimism is that it's not just that any of those variables could be dangerous for our societies, respectively, but that ALL of those variables are dangerous for our global economy and society.

One county falling into disrepair is not an issue. Several, and the economy crashes. Especially because of how destructive capitalism is when faced with a negative growth rate.

I don't have much hope.

[lyrapsi]

I think we're now moving from the deny stage to the delay stage, which is the worst stage because it involves excuse after excuse playing out in court for decades.

[qbas]

Big issue is that climate is only one of many planetary boundaries/limits to growth.

Biodiversity loss, plastic and chemical pollution, heavy metals pollution, habitat destruction, fast spread of diseases…

Climate is huge, but are we doing enough to tackle them all?

[timothyhume]

Look I am 75 years old so you know that means I have been watching a long steady decline. The climate weather is nothing like it was when I was young. It has been going downhill for a long time and it is getting worse so much faster every year. I do not believe we will be able to do what needs to be done. We are doomed.

[proximacentaur]

Some people will be and some won't. It will depend on where they are and how rich they are. I think the question is 'Who are we willing to abandon?'

[Namari]

I know it's not your particular field so I'm not surprised it didn't come up, but I feel that the answer to the question of "Are we doomed?" is incomplete without looking at how the change in climate will effect the ecology of the planet. People may be able to survive droughts or storms using adaptations, but plants and animals will not. On top of that, knock-on effects of climate change, like ocean acidification for example, are massive problems that aren't being discussed nearly enough in these conversations. We're in the middle of the sixth mass extinction, and if the natural world collapses due to climate change then yes, we are, in fact, doomed.

[treefrog]

Ideally speaking, yes we COULD change the suicidal direction of contemporary humanity except for the fact that the very few, the monied few, who have the most to gain by doing otherwise control the direction of human endeavor. They are blinded by their own greed and quest for power, oblivious to the larger ramifications of their actions. The human species would not be in this predicament if the fundamental concept of the Common Good had been espoused. Instead, we were provided with the concept of the "Divine Right of Kings" and the bulk of humanity has suffered every day right to the present moment.

[nsbdnow]

"It's up to us!" Yeah... we're doomed.

[mrrecluse]

Methinks this engaging, smart young scientist is not taking this seriously enough, even with his best efforts to be objective.

[throrth]

"Doesn't strike me as likely" isn't the best science. 1.5 degrees is behind us. Let's talk about the aerosol masking effect. For realistic viewpoints on these questions see the work of Guy McPherson and Michael Dowd among others. When we accept the reality of our common situation we can exit the scene with dignity and humanity. Namaste

[michaelclark]

If it was not for the aerosol masking effect which is a global phenomenon from industrial activity that the small particulate matter reflects a per cent of uV light back since our ozone layer is frail

[mitchellsmith]

To ask the question is to answer it. We are already experiencing lower crop yields all over the planet due to rising temperatures. In less than a decade, it will be too hot to grow food at the scale necessary to feed eight billion people, and so that’s the end for humans…and nearly all complex life on this planet. And as this reality sets in, there will massive increases in war, crime, privation, and disease around the world.

[DelusionalDoug]

On average, the climate models for the deep layer of the atmosphere are warming about twice too fast. And that’s a real problem, I think, when now we’re looking at over 40 years that we can test these models with and they’re already that far off. We should not use them to tell us what’s going to happen in the future, since they haven’t even gotten us to the right place in the last 40 years.

[oldgeezer]

When we get too hot or cold we seek shelter, more clothes, etc. Animal burrow down, build warmer nest, etc. However, plants can't do any of that. Without ample supply of plants (food) we die !!

[mossydog]

There is an us and them. We have no common cause with the international oligarchy that largely caused and currently drive climate change and it's them who are standing in the way of real progress. When nothing matters to you but money and power it's axiomatic that they'll do everything they can to retain their wealth and power and if the peasants have to be displaced, impoverished or killed, so be it. It's been this way since the first king and it won't change anytime soon.

[azertysams]

the way you just cured my climate anxiety and the comment section just made it worse-

[mikelong]

The biggest risk of death from climate change will not be due to environmental change, but the turmoil, and civil unrest, as populations squabble over changing ( but not necessarily diminishing) resources.

[matthewvicendese]

I think the war/famine thing is that the impacts are going to be uneven. Those who already have the least will get the hardest and we will see the type of migration that led to the bronze age collapse and Germanic invasions of the Roman Empire.

[dan]

No, global warming does not mean we are all doomed. Depletion of fossil fuels in the near term will have dramatic impact, along with global warming and sea level rise. The production of food is highly dependent on fossil fuels, reliable weather for water and much productive land is close to sea level. Loss of food production is going to have the biggest long term impact on population.