The queen and climate change

Sep 17, 2022
Sep 17, 2022 Updated Apr 13, 2025
5

Editor,

What is the connection between the queen of the Britons passing and climate change? Well the coverage of the former and the lack of coverage of perhaps the biggest example of catastrophe due to human augmented climate change is what.

(5) comments

Terence Y Sep 17, 2022 8:50am

Perhaps, Mr. Caggiano, it’s because the queen of the Britons passing is a non-debatable event which everyone can agree, whereas “human augmented climate change” is a man-made construct which is completely debatable and not everyone will ever agree. There’s a reason they call them “natural” disasters and as such, they’re an accepted part of life, as they have been for billions of years.

Mike Caggiano Sep 17, 2022 9:27am

Terrence even if we call it an 'act of god' it's still like having the US under water from the East coast to Ohio. Newsworthy? wadayathink?

Terence Y Sep 17, 2022 12:31pm

Miike, there’s just as much, if not more of, a chance that uplift will raise the Appalachian range higher than the top of Mount Shasta. But instead of focusing on issues that might take place millennia from now, why don’t we focus on past predictions and whether they’ve come true. I’ll start… Wasn’t it in 1989 when the UN said entire nations would be wiped off the face of the Earth by 2000 by global warming? Wasn’t it in 1995 that the NYT predicted that in 25 years, the east coast would no longer be visible because they were underwater? Wasn’t it in 2004 that the DoD said climate change would destroy us by 2020? Wasn’t it in in 2006 that Al Gore predicted the Earth would reach a point of no return in 10 years? And then in 2008 that Al Gore predicted the north polar ice cap would be ice-free in five years (then he moved it to 2014, then crickets?)?

So let’s recap. How many of the above predictions (don't worry, there are plenty more) have come true? Zero, zilch, nada, squat, goose egg, zip, because here we are, in 2022 with our cities, the east coast, our nation, the polar ice cap in existence, looking not much worse for the wear. Newsworthy? Wadayathink? Seems reporting on the results of all those, and more, failed predictions are also getting less ink than the queen of the Britons passing.

Westy Sep 18, 2022 6:58pm

As usual, TY, you have little grasp of fact. The 1989 UN report said the planet would reach a tipping point. And indeed we are likely well past the tipping point. Human activities have raised the atmosphere's carbon dioxide content by 50% in less than 200 years, the planetary buffers are full and climate change will continue to accelerate. The only question is, how fast will it accelerate--will we slow down our carbon dioxide output in time to avoid complete destruction? Humans are smart, but not collectively very sane, so I'm thinking not.

Terence Y Sep 19, 2022 8:49am

Westy, for arguments sake, let’s assume I accept your personal definition of “tipping point.” Even though three million years ago, when temperatures and CO2 levels were higher and there were no humans driving cars, no plastic, no air conditioning, and no aerosols, we still didn’t “tip over.” I'll be happy to give you that one as a freebie but you still haven’t addressed the other failed predictions I’ve listed. In fact, I can easily subtract your one freebie and add a few more failed predictions if you’d like – there are plenty to choose from.

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