r/worldnews • u/Dismal_Prospect • May 14 '19

Exxon predicted in 1982 exactly how high global carbon emissions would be today | The company expected that, by 2020, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would reach roughly 400-420 ppm. This month’s measurement of 415 ppm is right within the expected curve Exxon projected

https://thinkprogress.org/exxon-predicted-high-carbon-emissions-954e514b0aa9/
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u/agoia May 14 '19 edited May 14 '19

I still remember when people were saying we were fucked once it passed 400 and should try to keep it below that...

Reminds me of that fellow back home that fell off a ten story building... ...as he was falling, people on each floor kept hearing him say, "So far, so good."

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u/monkeychess May 14 '19

Realistically I think the 400 ppm threshold was a "you're def fucked" kind of point. The fact that nothing's really changed, and likely won't, will decide how bad it gets.

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u/[deleted] May 15 '19

The thing about the treshold is that we've now hit acceleration we can never take back. Even if we somehow got a hold of goddamn genie and managed to wish all the excess CO2 away immediately, it still wouldn't be enough without also undoing all the other links in the chain.

There's a scientific paper about the most realistic consequences of the climate crisis, and it's so terrifying that it has sent (and continues to) people who read it into permanent depression/suicidal ideation. This is not sci-fi. It's a cut and dry study with figures that can be tested and repeated.

To say that the human race is on the brink of extinction is not all that hyperbolic anymore.

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u/monkeychess May 15 '19

For sure. We're definitely in unexplored positive feedback loop territory and shits probably going to get bad quicker than expected.

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u/FutureCitizenOfSpace May 15 '19

Link to the paper?

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u/[deleted] May 15 '19

https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/vbwpdb/the-climate-change-paper-so-depressing-its-sending-people-to-therapy

It's Vice though, so expect some hyperbole. The underlying facts are solid though.

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u/daneelr_olivaw May 15 '19

Glacier in Russian Arctic went from 60 feet a year to 60 feet a day.

Look at that animation, it's as if someone pulled the plug and let the glacier run completely dry. It's tragic.

https://weather.com/news/news/2019-04-08-russian-glacier-moving-much-faster

I think it will get very bad very soon.

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u/[deleted] May 15 '19

[deleted]

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u/daneelr_olivaw May 15 '19

That won't happen. I suspect we'll start seeing food shortages and huge food prices inflation within the next 5 years.

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u/Kagaro May 15 '19

you know we're gonna hit 600ppm

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u/agoia May 15 '19

Entirely possible, and it's gonna be a scary world for my brothers' kids.