1.5°C Tipping Points and Feedback Loops

Feedback loops

Personally, I don't believe stabilizing at 1.5°C is possible.

Climate is a sensitive mechanism. There are mathematical models and probabilities but... Just like Newton physics does not work with speeds of light, the existing models do not take into account all the potential feedback loops. Here I'm naming only a few most intuitive ones.

Polar caps

White polar caps reflecting the sun rays are melting, dark ocean waters absorbing heat/

Permanent frost

Permanent frost melting releasing natural gas.

Ocean acidification

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_acidification#Ecosystem_impacts_amplified_by_ocean_warming_and_deoxygenation

"ocean warming exacerbates ocean deoxygenation, which is an additional stressor on marine organisms"

Forest fires

Less trees to capture CO2. More CO2 from fire itself.

Cutting rainforest

Thu 20 Dec 2018 19.00 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/20/risks-of-domino-effect-of-tipping-points-greater-than-thought-study-says

The deforestation of the Amazon is responsible for multiple “cascading effects” – weakening rain systems, forests becoming savannah, and reduced water supplies for cities like São Paulo and crops in the foothills of the Andes. This, in turn, increases the pressure for more land clearance.

From the video: https://youtu.be/b2VkC4SnwY0

Tipping points

At a certain level, the changes become so extreme it will only accelerate, beyond the point of the repair.

While it would be nice if we could change Economy of the Climate Change by becoming Global Political Party via various Civil disobedience actions, I don't think it's feasible or realistic... That is why Plan B

Report

Report: https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/

Figure from the report: https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/graphics/