The "HOW SOON?" Question

Some accounts talk in a timescale of tens or hundreds of years for the major impact of increased carbon dioxide levels. Other accounts are stressing that in some regions serious effects are already being experienced.

It may be comforting to take the mid-point of a wide range of climate model patterns but they do not take into account 'tipping points' after which changes are expected to be more rapid and irreversible.

The public will have to establish a point at which further damage is unacceptable before governments can formulate policy and act.

Group members

• Malcolm

Sources

1. 100 months to avoid disaster 20/08/08
2. 25 years to ocean disaster 30/11/08
3. Nature Evaluates 2 Methane Time Bombs 05/03/09
4. Early Action Important - Met Office 03/03/09
5. No Warming for next decade is possible 27/10/08
6. Glacier Melt hits Record Rate UN says 16/03/08
7. Apocalyptic Climate Predictions Mislead Public 12/02/09
8. Sooner and Even Worse for USA 16/04/07
9. IPCC Summary for North America 20/06/07
10. Faster than ever 27/03/07
11. Global Emissions Growing Ever Faster 26/09/08
12. North Korea Indicates World Disaster 20/06/08
13. Sea Level Rise calculations 17/09/08
14. Arctic Ice More Vulnerable to Sunny Weather 22/04/08
15. Tipping Points Study 05/02/08
16. Global Dimming A problem or a solution?
17. Varying Arctic Predictions 2008 14/02/08 - my bet, gone by 2020!
18. Melting Ice Causes Earthquakes 08/09/07
19. Climate Models Improve 11/08/07
20. 9 Tipping Points
21. 10000 years become one day
22. Worse than the current gloomy predictions
23. NASA Warning and the loss of species
24. More rapidly than you think
25. African Food Production to halve by 2020 25/09/07
26. Hansen Warns of Sea Level Danger 22/08/07
27. Models v Observations
28. Smallest Arctic Icecap ever on 17/08/07 and getting smaller
29. California Soon
30. Arizona Trees Animals Stressed
31. Methane Balances Explained 28/09/06
32. American SW Dustbowl
33. Climate Uncertainty
34. Sea Level
35. Feedback loops accelerate warming
36. Will reducing emissions be enough?
37. 2100 now
38. New York Sea Level