The Far North Is Burning--and Turning Up the Heat on the Planet

[NickB79]

https://www.wired.com/story/the-far-north-is-burning-and-turning-up-the-heat-on-the-planet/amp

The far north is both a massive carbon sink and a potent environmental time bomb. The region stores a huge amount of CO2 in boreal forests and underlying soils. Organic peat soil, for instance, covers just 3 percent of the Earth’s land area (there’s some in tropical regions too), yet it contains a third of its terrestrial carbon. And Arctic permafrost has locked away thousands of years’ worth of plant matter, preventing rot that would release clouds of planet-heating carbon dioxide and methane.

But in a pair of recent papers, scientists have found that wildfires and human meddling are reducing northern ecosystems’ ability to sequester carbon, threatening to turn them into carbon sources. That will in turn accelerate climate change, which is already warming the Arctic four and a half times faster than the rest of the world, triggering the release of still more carbon—a gnarly feedback loop.

Right now there are massive fires sweeping Canada and Siberia, releasing massive amounts of carbon. We waited too long to act.

[roamer65]

1. Yes, it's too late.

Last edited Wed May 10, 2023, 06:45 PM - Edit history (1)

Now, it can only be mitigation at best.

Between now and 2050 the real “hell on earth” is going to start.

The single best choice anyone can make now to mitigate climate change is not having children.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/12/want-to-fight-climate-change-have-fewer-children

[BigmanPigman]

2. Certain areas are seeing it more than others

as scientists discover how places around the world will experience varying degrees of the impact of climate change. The earth is not equal.

[DBoon]

3. but Sen Manchin must protect his precious fossil fuels

[Deuxcents]

4. We're being told about record temps tomorrow..94* in south Fla