no more
amazon rainforest more than half of
earth's land became a desert
what just happened well it doesn't
happen in a snap
we had time but we ignored it is there a
way for us to go back
the way it was let's speculate a
scenario about what happens if the
global average temperature of earth
rises by 4 degrees celsius or 7.2
degrees fahrenheit in this video of
discover zen
we all know that global temperature is
rising faster than ever
according to nasa and many other
meteorologists
climate change will be the biggest
threat in the long term not just for
humans but for all biodiversity on earth
the average global land and ocean
surface temperature as of march 2020
was 1.16 degrees celsius or 2.09 degrees
fahrenheit higher than that of the 20th
century
and considering the current rate of
carbon dioxide emissions our global
temperature will rise by 3.5 degrees
celsius
or even more by the year 2100
according to nasa and the european
climate pact a global temperature
rise by 1.5 degrees celsius is the
danger point
when we cross the critical point the
consequences will be devastating
going above 1.5 degrees of warming puts
millions more at risk of potentially
life-threatening heat waves and poverty
it wipes out all coral reefs that entire
ecosystems rely on worldwide
seas swallow even more of our cities and
that's just for starters
if we do not take necessary precautions
at the right time
our future is going to be catastrophic
first let's see the impact when our
planet becomes 2 degrees celsius
or 3.6 degrees fahrenheit warmer
sea levels will rise by 48 centimeters
or 1.6 feet
coastlines will be flooded worldwide
while the amount of fresh water may
increase for high latitudes east africa
and parts of india and sahel
sub-tropical regions may lose
nearly one-third of its fresh water
making matters worse
heat waves could intensify tropical
regions may experience heat waves for up
to three months which will affect the
growth of certain staple crops
these areas will likely produce less
wheat and corn but slightly more soy and
rice which could affect overall diets
worldwide
for sea life the situation is more dire
warmer oceans will do irreversible
damage to 99 percent of coral reefs
as the briefs die it will disrupt
ecosystems for up to 9 million different
species
if you feel that these effects aren't
enough wait until you see what happens
in the next scenario
now let's see the impact when our planet
becomes 4 degrees celsius or 7.2 degrees
fahrenheit warmer
this scenario is actually devastating
this map created by parag khanna shows
the effects
of 4 degrees celsius rise in average
temperature on our planet
antarctica is white with snow and ice on
our current maps
this map has turned the continent's
western end incongruously green
and recent reports confirmed that
antarctica is indeed turning green
micronesia is under the water
china pakistan southeast asia and most
of india have been abandoned and europe
is slowly turning into a desert
this is the world four degrees celsius
warmer than it is now
the brown parts of the map indicate
uninhabitable areas due to floods
drought or extreme weather say goodbye
to the eastern seaboard of the u.s
to mexico and central america to the
middle third of south america
in africa mozambique and madagascar are
gone
western antarctica is no longer icy and
uninhabitable
smart cities will thrive in newly green
and pleasant lands
and in northern canada scandinavia and
siberia produce great harvests
to feed the billions of climate refugees
the orange
parts are not much better as those are
uninhabitable desert
the amazon rainforest is now completely
a desert
and the same goes for most of the us and
the rest of south america
almost the entirety of africa and the
southern halves of europe and asia
deserts have encroached on southern
europe rivers have dried up and alps are
now snow free
the red parts are for lands lost to the
rising sea level as it rises 2 meters or
6.5 feet
this may not seem a lot but this is
where the population is concentrated
in the us for instance counties directly
on the shoreline constitute less than 10
percent of the total land area but
account for 40 percent of the total
population
but there is a flip side the green parts
indicate food growing zones
and compact high-rise cities that's
western antarctica
couldn't believe it huh new zealand
sparsely populated in our time
will also be transformed into a high
density population center
the same goes for russia and canada
which will be occupied by good
infrastructure
and the uk scandinavia greenland and
northern
russia will be occupied with compact
high-rise cities to provide shelter for
much of the world's population
also the bering strait will be the
largest trade route in the world
all of the u.s is not lost because
alaska will be a perfect
location to occupy also a small part of
the far northern states in the u.s
including washington montana north
dakota and minnesota will be
inhabitable parag khanna the creator of
this map also speculates that the entire
population of the arctic region today
is less than 4 million could it be 400
million within the coming 20 years
now is the time to buy property in
greenland before it too turns green
but it's not an all-happy scenario the
partial melting of ice in the polar ice
caps
leads to even more global warming
because of the organic carbon and
methane that's hidden
deep inside the ice before we start
looking at solutions
we need to understand more about global
warming
let's look at the pollutants we emit and
how they contribute to rise in global
temperature
we can say that global warming is
primarily caused by
huge emissions of carbon dioxide but
there's more to it
even methane has one of the most
important roles in global warming
it traps 84 times more heat per mass
unit than carbon dioxide
and 32 times the effect when accounting
for aerosol interactions
methane emission can be man-made as well
as natural
when we look at natural methane emission
seabed permafrost is one of them
in man-made emissions our favorite diet
is one of them
guess what i'm talking about hamburgers
steak
etc livestock emissions make up anywhere
between 14.5 and 18
of total global greenhouse gas emissions
comparably the transportation sector is
responsible for around 14
of emissions now let's see what are the
solutions to avoid this type of
catastrophic future
according to the ipcc to avoid crossing
4 degrees
celsius change worldwide carbon
emissions would have to be cut by 40 to
70 percent between 2010 and 2050
and become zero or negative by 2100
we have to adapt to renewable resources
for power generation as well as for
other needs
avoid consuming livestock and get used
to vegan meat
there are many startups which are
producing vegan meat and getting closer
to the taste of actual meat
transportation has one of the worst
impacts on our environment
so adapt to electric vehicles companies
like tesla and aviation have a great
vision on renewable energy sources
and we want them to succeed eventually
people will recognize the effects of
global warming and there will be many
more companies working on zero carbon
emission products
there are other ways in order to save
ourselves from this catastrophe too
what happens if we become a type one
civilization and control
global warming that sounds like another
idea to speculate on discover zen