Launch solar shade! @ Sea levels drop.
a) We can't b) What secondary / tertiary / ... / n-th order effects would that have? I'm guessing you don't know.
This is a reference to a computer game, not a serious proposal:
Alaska’s thawing soils are now pouring carbon dioxide into the air
131–140 of 214 posts
Re: Alaska’s thawing soils are now pouring carbon dioxide into the air
#132Earlier quoted context omitted.
To be fair to us we are only just barely sentient. In evolutionary terms we have literally only just managed to build a technological society. Therefore it stands to reason we only recently evolved sufficient intelligence to do so. Otherwise we'd have done it sooner. In the grand scheme of things we're on the very lowest bottom level of the sentience hierarchy.
That's fair, but it'll be sad to see our species added to the dustbin of history after squandering such a great opportunity to move from planetary to stellar civilization. If there happen to be any other sentient species watching us, I can only assume they spend most of the time face-palming, head-shaking and eye-rolling.
> I can only assume they spend most of the time face-palming, head-shaking and eye-rolling
Or they see us as a natural phenomenon following similar patterns to other fledgling civilizations. We don't roll our eyes when a pathogen is so virulent it kills its host before it propagates.
Re: Alaska’s thawing soils are now pouring carbon dioxide into the air
#133Earlier quoted context omitted.
On a positive note, while it may not suffice to save human civilization, CO2 likely won't get baked out of rocks. Or at least, it hasn't after previous "methane gun" events.
What has been released after the previous "methane gun" events?
The Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum[0] and the Permian–Triassic extinction[1] may have involved "methane gun" events.
0) http://www.pnas.org/content/113/28/7739.full.pdf
1) http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2002/dayearthdied.shtml
Re: Alaska’s thawing soils are now pouring carbon dioxide into the air
#134What sort of effect does this increased CO2 have on the plant life in the area? Do they benefit from the increased CO2 leading to more plants/trees, etc?
Re: Alaska’s thawing soils are now pouring carbon dioxide into the air
#135I don't think this is specific to Alaska - there's something similar going on in Siberia and other places where melting permafrost has the potential to do serious damage. There are even books (and soon at least one movie) on how restoring wooly mammoth populations can save us. - http://www.npr.org/2017/07/05/534768716/woolly-breathes-new-... - https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/27/16050308/woolly-ben-mezri...
Aren't there reports of methane-induced explosions because of all of the melting of the permafrost in Siberia?
Re: Alaska’s thawing soils are now pouring carbon dioxide into the air
#136Earlier quoted context omitted.
To be fair to us we are only just barely sentient. In evolutionary terms we have literally only just managed to build a technological society. Therefore it stands to reason we only recently evolved sufficient intelligence to do so. Otherwise we'd have done it sooner. In the grand scheme of things we're on the very lowest bottom level of the sentience hierarchy.
That's fair, but it'll be sad to see our species added to the dustbin of history after squandering such a great opportunity to move from planetary to stellar civilization. If there happen to be any other sentient species watching us, I can only assume they spend most of the time face-palming, head-shaking and eye-rolling.
Maybe there aren't any. Maybe all sentient species self-destruct when they discover and start developing technology but don't understand all the implications. There's a theory along these lines that explains why we've never found any signs of extraterrestrial intelligent life.
Re: Alaska’s thawing soils are now pouring carbon dioxide into the air
#137Earlier quoted context omitted.
Have we ever done something that requires global agreement?
CFC global ban in the 90s - http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/this-week-in-history...
True, but there was a ready substitute. When have we ever had a global agreement that required real sacrifice?
Re: Alaska’s thawing soils are now pouring carbon dioxide into the air
#138What sort of effect does this increased CO2 have on the plant life in the area? Do they benefit from the increased CO2 leading to more plants/trees, etc?
Yes, undoubtedly.
Re: Alaska’s thawing soils are now pouring carbon dioxide into the air
#139Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, this is one of the explanations of the Fermi paradox.
I was discussing that with a friend once and I argued that a more intelligent species might fare worse in these matters. It would more rapidly and aggressively exploit its environment due to higher intelligence and would therefore run a greater risk of triggering catastrophic environmental events. The problem is that there is no game theoretic advantage in cooperating to reduce CO2 unless everyone cooperates. If one…
I guess someone didn't like hearing what you said, but you're absolutely right. Global agreements are coordination problems; there's an incentive to violate them, discretely at least. And there's a cost to genuinely comply with the agreement while others are clandestinely violating it.
Re: Alaska’s thawing soils are now pouring carbon dioxide into the air
#140Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's fair, but it'll be sad to see our species added to the dustbin of history after squandering such a great opportunity to move from planetary to stellar civilization. If there happen to be any other sentient species watching us, I can only assume they spend most of the time face-palming, head-shaking and eye-rolling.
Maybe there aren't any. Maybe all sentient species self-destruct when they discover and start developing technology but don't understand all the implications. There's a theory along these lines that explains why we've never found any signs of extraterrestrial intelligent life.