• Question: If global warming actually happens, do you think that it is possible that some human beings could survive?

    Asked by shrimpyking to Andrew, Emma, Marianne on 16 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Marianne Baker

      Marianne Baker answered on 14 Jun 2010:

      Hey shrimpyking.

      So, global warming actually happens constantly; without it none of us would be here!
      Global warming is perfectly natural, it’s a consequence of having an atmosphere and it permits life to flourish. Otherwise, we’d be as dead as Mars! It lost its atmosphere and now it’s so cold, all the water is ice and (as far as we know) there’s no life.

      So, in terms of climate change, that’s also happening. I’m not a climate scientist but the debate in the field long ago moved on from ‘is it going to happen?’ to ‘how can we manage it?’ – it’s no longer a quesiton of if, but when and what will we do about it.

      We will certainly survive.
      Unfortunately, other species might not be so lucky; polar bears for example, their habitat is changing very rapidly and they do not have a chance to adapt. It makes me very sad to hear of extinctions and for us to be the cause of many would be a great, regrettable shame.

      It’s unrealistic to think of 2012 type scenarios where the oceans cover everything but the mountain-tops, but climate change is a reality and one we’re going to have to deal with.

    • Photo: Andrew Maynard

      Andrew Maynard answered on 14 Jun 2010:

      Hi shrimpyking,

      global warming is already happening, and yes, humans will survive (unless something really catastrophic happens). But unless we act to slow things down and we don’t learn to live responsibly on Earth, the future could be a pretty uncomfortable place for those that are still around.

    • Photo: anon

      anon answered on 14 Jun 2010:

      Hello again shrimpyking. hope year 8 treating you well today. I think we’re all pretty convinced that global warming is happening now, just quite slowly (though quickly compared to how it’s happened in the past).

      I think it is possible that humans could survive the conseuquences of global warming for a number of reasons. We’re very resourceful and I’m sure technological/scientific advances would come to our aid. They say that necessity is the mother of invention. It is also true that adverse circumstances (like wars for instance) can spur on the advances I mentioned above.

      Maybe, just maybe we’ll manage to slow down the warming and even reverse it and then this won’t matter so much.

    • Photo: anon

      anon answered on 16 Jun 2010:

      Hi shrimpyking….it’s supposed to be happening as we type but we are still here! Seriously, who knows, personally, I think we would probably adapt but if it accelerated dramatically it would cause an enormous strain on the human race. Therefore, if we do something about it now, we can prevent it from happening or slow it down and minimise it’s impact…you are our future and everybody can contribute to reducing their impact on the environment.:)

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