The previous episode of Edge of Knowledge looked back in time a few billion years to explore the origins of life on Earth, but now we are aiming our lens in a different direction. Instead of looking at the distant past to see how life began, this episode looks to the near future – specifically, the ways in which the Earth’s climate can change over the coming decades.
Facing it
First, let us remove this uncomfortable truth: man-made climate change — that is, man-made climate change — is an established science. Evidence is overwhelming and counter-attempts are incomplete, incorrect or fabricated. The questions we need to answer, as Paul points out in the video, are not “Is this happening?” or “Shall we do something?” The questions we now face are “How bad will it be?” and “What exactly should we do?”
Instability is increasing
The Earth itself is a complex set of systems that all interact with each other and climate change is changing the balance of these systems. As these systems seek to rebalance, the Earth’s climate shifts in an immediate response — the patterns of the ocean current change, affecting the temperature and the weather we experience on land (remember, for example, that the temperate climate of the United States Basil draws much of that restraint from the Gulf Stream stream — if that changed or changed, the UK would be a much less enjoyable place to live). Melting polar ice will cause sea levels to rise and thawing permanent frost can also release more trapped carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Rising temperatures in the atmosphere and oceans are leading to stronger tropical cyclones, which are destroying coastal communities. Advertising
Correcting things
Well, back to Paul’s question: “What exactly are we to do?” There are some deceptively simple answers. Obviously, a broad reduction in greenhouse gas emissions would be an important step forward, but “just reduce greenhouse gas emissions” is not exactly useful advice – it’s like saying that the best way to cure cancer is to stop having cancer. Global greenhouse gas emissions are linked to the domestic and foreign policy decisions of most countries on Earth and are determined less by individual choices than by the interaction of humanity’s vast interconnected economic systems. As a species, we are still addicted to the things that support climate change, because many of them have been responsible for transforming us from rural economies to industrial economies to information economies. There is a long way to go and a lot of ground to cover here. And we have three more episodes of Edge of Knowledge, where we will deal with some more existential questions. Stay tuned! Posted by Alexandros Marangos / Getty Images
