What is the likelihood of global warming being catastrophic?

Answer 1

Depends on what you mean by the word. It won't be a rapid thing.

We won't suddenly burst into flames. Or die of heat.

Our agriculture will be damaged over many years. Coastal areas will gradually start to flood. First in storms than just flood, period.

Rich nations will spend huge sums of money to cope. The standard of living will go down.

In poor countries many (not all) people will die of starvation.

I call that a catastrophe. Unless we act to reduce global warming. That seems unlikely, since so many people would rather close their eyes and deny it exists.

Answer 2

Not likely. Actually the temperature of the earth has increased less than 7/10 of 1 degree (C) from 1880 to 2005. That is an increase of about 1 degree (F) in 125 years. You may choose to believe that is global warming or you may not. Source: http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/2005/2005cal_fig1.gif There are numerous charts all over the internet showing the same. Some say that 1 degree is enough to impact the global climate, others say it's not. Most proponents of global warming think the earth's temperature has risen much more than that and don't even know that it has only risen by 1 degree. But the charts do not lie as do the proponents on both sides of this issue. The average temperature in the Antarctica is 109 degrees below zero. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctica#Climate It seems to me 108 below (one degree warmer) is still pretty cold and not enough to melt anything. But there are those that say it will.

Back in the '70s all the hype was about global COOLING and another ice age was coming. I remember that they blamed pollution for that too. They said that all the pollution was darkening the skies and not as much sun was coming through so the earth was cooling off. It took many years to discover that they were mistaken and it was all just hype. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_cooling So when someone says, "the sky is falling" don't believe everything you hear on either side of the issue. There are Spin Doctors galore out there.

Most of the time people will form an opinion and not really be informed about the subject with which they become so opinionated about. So it's best that you not form your opinions from other's opinions, (as in this forum) but on the facts presented. (Many do not provide any proof or links to prove their point, just their opinion.) With that said we do have a responsibility to do our part by doing whatever is within your power to keep our planet alive and well.

I hope that helps...

Answer 3

I think global warming is already pretty catastrophic. Is it not enough that temperatures have increased within the last century to around 2 or 3 more degrees farenheit? Temperature fluctuations are normal, but today is the hottest it has ever been, and if the trend continues (which it probably will) we will increase our temperature uncontrollably until something so terrible happens we will all collectively actually do something about it. Species exitnction is happening every day and trees are being cut down extremely fast. I was just watching a new show on the Discovery Channel called "How things Are Made" and they were showing how paper is made, by a company in Sweden which used 25 thousand trees per day!!

2006 was the warmest year ever, and el Nino hit the U.S. pretty hard, with hot weather where its usually cold and vice versa.
I could go on and on, but what could happen because of global warming is something to be concerned about. I hope you guys all watch "An Inconvenient Truth" because immages are stronger than words and facts speak for themselves so read up and dont just take my word for a fact. I hope you all convince yourselves and see the reality of the world.

Hope that helped you.

Answer 4

zilch, global warming will do just that, warm the globe. However the effects of what global warming initiates such as melting polar ice caps and release of natural methane deposits in the poles. Thats a different story. Catastrophic, perhaps, will humans find a way to adapt, ofcourse, that's how we made it this far vs. nature in the first place. I'm not endorsing global warming by the way. But I'm not sweatin it either, I do think it is a false hope to attempt to reverse it's occurance especially once those gas deposits are released.

Answer 5

If the theory of global warming turns out to be true, it could wipe out most of the existing life on the planet within a few thousand years I would think.

Answer 6

Chek for information www.davidsuzuki.org/Climate_Change/Impacts/

the only " one man band " that I know the Canadian David Suzuki.
I personally have done some correct predictions and observations
out of simple curriocity on the basis of what you see what you get and
also what you dont see and you will get, and all that out of simple curriocity because nobody seems pays attention on simple mathematics of our
enviroment , and they bellieve that the next day will take care of itself.

Answer 7

that would depend on who you ask-when the climate changes some organisms benefit while others perish-it won't mean the end of the world -just the end of the one that we are used to.

Answer 8

the earth is not catastrophic, it changes....an earthquake is not a problem for the Earth, it's a prob for humans!

Answer 9

100%

Answer 10

God said in his holy word that the world would not be destroyed by water again.