'The stakes could not be higher': world is on edge of climate abyss, UN warns | Hacker News Reader

'The stakes could not be higher': world is on edge of climate abyss, UN warns

theguardian.com

19 pointsarrowsmith6 comments

I have no horse in this race, or at least I have no more horses that anyone else, but I can honestly say, no hyperbole, no panic-button... 20 years ago, winters used to be winters, temperature used to be low for months, snow would accumulate and every day would be a chore to clear out at least 40 to 50 cm of snow, just to get to the street. Last winter, it snowed twice, only a few hours each day, and this has been the case for years and years now... something has definitely changed, in fact, something feels broken... I live about 2 hours from Antarctica, so think about it.

I say the same. I'm only 33 and the climate where I grew up has changed very noticeably even in my short lifetime. It's undeniable.

Same here. The winters are just sporadic snow and rain now. Also live quite far north. I am worried about AMOC slowdown though.

I think everyone who lives on Earth has a horse in the race, and those with children probably have more (though I suppose some regions may actually become more attractive to live in, they might also attract a lot of competition to live in them). I've lived in South Texas my whole life so we never really had winter, but summers used to be merely uncomfortable, and now they have become dangerous - I saw more dead animals and trees last summer than ever in my life. I'd say I've pretty much become a doomer and accepted what is to come, but that may be easier said than done.

> I'd say I've pretty much become a doomer and accepted what is to come

I've stopped fearing what can be seen coming. Prepare, and (where possible) do what you can to steer towards solutions.

But I do fear the unpredictable. Black swan events, passing some tipping point(s) that wasn't even on scientists' radar, 2nd/3rd order effects from weather extremes, (worldwide) mass crop failures, resource conflicts, mass migration, etc. Or for good measure: another pandemic, supervolcano eruption, nuclear weapon exchange or km-sized asteroid hitting us. Just to name a few..

Never mind the combination of those.

I have an opinion that the only people whose position in climate issues is "business as usual" are capitalists because they want the economy to keep growing but what humanship needs is not things but a wisdom.

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