Editing 1379: 4.5 Degrees
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: An IAU of -1 is associated with the last ice age. During this time [[Randall|Randall's]] neighborhood was buried under an ice sheet. | : An IAU of -1 is associated with the last ice age. During this time [[Randall|Randall's]] neighborhood was buried under an ice sheet. | ||
− | : An IAU of | + | : An IAU of 1 is the predicted global temperature by the end of year 2100. While it makes sense to assume it's just as drastic a difference as -1 IAU, we still don't know the actual nature of what it would be, which is why it is represented by a question mark in the comic. |
− | : An IAU of | + | : An IAU of 2 IAU is associated with the {{w|Cretaceous Thermal Maximum|"Hothouse Earth"}} of the early {{w|Cretaceous period}}. At this time there were "{{w|Arecaceae|palm trees}} at the poles" as there were {{w|Polar forests of the Cretaceous|polar forests}} during Cretaceous summers. (Average temperature of North Pole during the summer is 32F. 32+2*4.5*1.8 = 48.2F, hot enough for trees to grow at the North Pole under hypothetical 2 IAU scenarios) |
An increase of 4.5 °C (+1 IAU) seems like a small change in temperature, but the changes it would cause are likely very large as it can also be described as halfway to palm trees at the poles. | An increase of 4.5 °C (+1 IAU) seems like a small change in temperature, but the changes it would cause are likely very large as it can also be described as halfway to palm trees at the poles. | ||
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This comic shows the extreme extent to which {{w|global warming}} can (and will) change our environment. Randall presented this view earlier in [[164: Playing Devil's Advocate to Win]]. Climate change, especially global warming, is a [[:Category:Climate change|recurring theme]] in xkcd. This is because many still believe the {{rw|conspiracy_theory|conspiracy theory}} that {{rw|global_warming|global warming}} is a hoax. | This comic shows the extreme extent to which {{w|global warming}} can (and will) change our environment. Randall presented this view earlier in [[164: Playing Devil's Advocate to Win]]. Climate change, especially global warming, is a [[:Category:Climate change|recurring theme]] in xkcd. This is because many still believe the {{rw|conspiracy_theory|conspiracy theory}} that {{rw|global_warming|global warming}} is a hoax. | ||
− | The title text expands, demonstrating that the potential impacts of an increase by the IPCC report's best case scenario of 2 | + | The title text expands, demonstrating that the potential impacts of an increase by the IPCC report's best case scenario of 2 deg C, about half an ice age unit, makes controlling climate change seem more urgent. The figure of 2 °C is the most commonly agreed {{w|Climate change mitigation#Temperature targets|temperature target}} that assumes the creation of aggressive emissions limits at the time of the publishing of the comic. |
===A1F1 Scenario=== | ===A1F1 Scenario=== |