Worst Case

While the IPCC reports are, of necessity, based on consensus, Dahr Jamail investigates the views of some climate scientists who see the possibility of rapid, catastrophic changes.  For example, the "Great Dying" extinction event of 250 million years ago was related to the release of methane.  Ninety-five percent of species were killed.  And with temperatures rising fastest in the polar regions, a 50 gigaton "burp" of methane from melting permafrost is possible.  That would be equivalent to at least 1000 gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions (compared to 240 gigatons total emissions since the industrial revolution began).  It's hard to see how civilization could withstand that sort of disaster.

These views get derided as alarmist, yet our political institutions have yet to heed any warning.

Update (December 19):  Nafeez Ahmed reviews research that claims climate change impacts may be underestimated.

Update (December 26):  Bruce Melton offers a review of current climate science and calls for "sky mining" as a solution since emissions reductions are inadequate to prevent dangerous climate change.

Update (December 29):  Climate change by the numbers.

Update (February 14, 2014):  Answering the deniers.

Update (March 8, 2014):  Lindsay Abrams offers five theories for the motives of climate change deniers.