Melting ice reveals two-million-year old peat

I've read some analysis that says global warming will make much more of Russia arable and open up lots of new economic opportunities. China will gain new shipping lanes through the Arctic. Canada will also get more useful land, etc.

Obviously it's going to wreak havoc on ecosystems and species diversity and the climates of other nations, but you don't see the lopsided benefits mentioned frequently or how these factor into the calculus of certain nations.

Re: Melting ice reveals two-million-year old peat

#6

Post by baybal2 » Sat, Sep 03, 2022, 6:19 PM UTC

echelon wrote: post #5

Not to veer off topic, but this felt tangential with the mention of thawing peat. I've read some analysis that says global warming will make much more of Russia arable and open up lots of new economic opportunities. China will gain new shipping lanes through the Arctic. Canada will also get more useful land, etc. Obviously it's going to wreak havoc on ecosystems and species diversity and the climates of other nations…

No post body was provided.

Re: Melting ice reveals two-million-year old peat

#7

Post by agilob » Sat, Sep 03, 2022, 6:28 PM UTC

echelon wrote: post #5

Not to veer off topic, but this felt tangential with the mention of thawing peat. I've read some analysis that says global warming will make much more of Russia arable and open up lots of new economic opportunities. China will gain new shipping lanes through the Arctic. Canada will also get more useful land, etc. Obviously it's going to wreak havoc on ecosystems and species diversity and the climates of other nations…

Many opportunities, yes, Czechia will have access to sea...

Re: Melting ice reveals two-million-year old peat

#8

Post by MAGZine » Sat, Sep 03, 2022, 6:34 PM UTC

echelon wrote: post #5

Not to veer off topic, but this felt tangential with the mention of thawing peat. I've read some analysis that says global warming will make much more of Russia arable and open up lots of new economic opportunities. China will gain new shipping lanes through the Arctic. Canada will also get more useful land, etc. Obviously it's going to wreak havoc on ecosystems and species diversity and the climates of other nations…

Not well, IMO. Or, at least, "it's complicated."

Take for example, the boreal forest, which produces roughly equivalent amounts of oxygen as the Amazon. A large swatch of canada is covered by boreal forest. As the climate warms, the growing season could become elongated. However, there actually isn't any more arable land in Canada without deforesting. Grassland goes right up to the forest, and the forest doesn't stop until the arctic circle.

Maybe you could EVENTUALLY grow in the arctic circle, but even then you face significant developmental/logistical challenges

So, what do you do? Do you tear down the forest, as is happening in S. America, make room for homesteading and civilization? probably not wise. And yet, in the south, if I had to guess, the desert in the southwest will continue to creep up into the grasslands to the north and east.

So say that you do decide to deforest to turn that land into something more than just forest—what then? Increasing turbulent/violent weather poses significant challenges. Arguably one of the worst parts of climate change is not just the extra warmth, but the extreme weather that it brings. Hailstorms are becoming more likely. Early frosts are becoming more likely. And both of these things will kill your crops in one fell swoop. So the existing arable land's yield is going down, not up.

But yes, we'll get a new shipping lane.

Re: Melting ice reveals two-million-year old peat

#9

Post by edgefield » Sat, Sep 03, 2022, 6:36 PM UTC

As an aside, it’s striking to me that Hacker News has a significant audience of flat earthers. Don’t look up, right? Let’s be clear, human caused climate change is very real. Rigorous science confirms this and CO2 + methane levels are now driving very visible and catastrophic weather all over the world. The only thing left to debate is how quickly the planet will become hostile to human life and whether some scientific discovery (magic at the moment) can head off the worst outcomes.

Edit: The responses and downvoting in this thread just prove my point. Debating human caused climate change is no different than debating that the earth is round or that Trump won in 2020. Incredible.

Re: Melting ice reveals two-million-year old peat

#10

Post by treeman79 » Sat, Sep 03, 2022, 6:39 PM UTC

echelon wrote: post #5

Not to veer off topic, but this felt tangential with the mention of thawing peat. I've read some analysis that says global warming will make much more of Russia arable and open up lots of new economic opportunities. China will gain new shipping lanes through the Arctic. Canada will also get more useful land, etc. Obviously it's going to wreak havoc on ecosystems and species diversity and the climates of other nations…

Ocean used to be 400 feet lower. We are still coming out of an ice age.

People will move further inland if needed.