A Must Read! Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet

Save Our Planet

British journalist and broadcast commentator on environmental issues, Mr. Mark Lynas, took a three year journey traveling through the five continents witnessing the severity of global warming. From the melting Alaskan tundra, the submerging Pacific Island nation of Tuvalu and the growing deserts of Inner Mongolia to the vanishing glaciers in Peru and the flood and storm caused land erosion in China – Mr. Lynas personally collected the evidence that culminated in his climate change themed book, High Tide: The Truth About Our Climate Crisis.

Shortly after, Mr. Lynas extensively studied the scientific evidence and rationale regarding the effect of our fossil fuel-based lifestyle on the climate, environment and the inhabitants on this planet. He spent many months in Oxford University’s Radcliffe Science Library reading through thousands of peer-reviewed scientific literature before publishing his second startling book on climate change, Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet; serving as another wake-up call.

The latter book systematically reviews climate change based on data from scientific research and advanced computer modeling as well as palaeoclimatic findings throughout the Earth’s history. It depicts a picture of a warmer climate in the future and what consequences this bears. It also examines periods of past dramatic climatic changes through natural processes, and projects the horrible effect of global warming for all lives and the environment on the planet.

Degree by degree, one degree per chapter, Six Degrees is arranged according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2001 “Third Assessment Report.” (http://www.ipcc.ch) In each chapter, the effect of increasing temperatures on the Earth and its biosphere is sketched in a realistically chilling manner.

From the present 1ºC rise to the 3ºC “tipping point,” up to the 6 ºC increase causing the extinction of most life including humanity, it is hard to conceive that human activities could be responsible for such catastrophic calamities. Yet we have endangered this planet and are close to losing it irreversibly if we don’t act immediately to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

At one degree of warming, the Arctic is ice-free for half the year, the South Atlantic—typically void of hurricanes—experiences coastal hurricanes, and in the western U.S. severe droughts plague residents.

Polar bears struggle to survive as glaciers increasingly melt away. Glaciers in Greenland begin to disappear, while coral reefs are vanishing. The global sea level rises seven meters.

The Amazon rainforest is drying out and El Niño’s intense weather pattern becomes the norm. Europe repeatedly experiences searing summer heat that has rarely happened before. Millions or billions of people are displaced from the subtropics to mid-latitude areas.

Oceans could rise, taking over coastal cities. The disappearance of glaciers may deprive many of fresh water. A part of Antarctica could collapse, causing water to rise even further. The summer temperature in London will be 45ºC.

Uninhabitable zones could spread, snow pack and aquifers feeding big cities could dry up and climate refugees could run in the millions. Human civilization could begin to break down with these drastic changes to the climate. The poor will likely suffer the most. There will be no more ice at either pole along with massive species extinction in the ocean and large scale tsunamis destroying shorelines.

At six degrees, up to 95% mass extinction will occur; living beings will suffer from frequent lethal storms and floods; hydrogen sulfide and methane fires will become the norm – potentially an atomic bomb - and no life will survive, only bacteria. This could be “the doomsday scenario.”

What is of more concern is that due to the complexity of the ecosystem on this planet, the reality of climate change can be more severe than scientific forecasts! Predictions of climate change effects are disturbing. When reviewing all the data he collected, Mr. Lynas felt maybe he “should be keeping it all secret” since the truth is “terrifying.” Actually, some of the projections are already becoming a reality. For example, the summer heat waves in Europe have already begun to affect human health, particularly among the elderly. Warmer weather also causes regional increases in malaria and other diseases. Global warming already makes China’s glaciers shrink by 7% every year, which could have devastating effects on the 300 million who depend on them for water. In India, the rapid melting ice displaced 70,000 people from the submerged Lohachara Island, and the rising sea level brought about the relocation of 20,000 Islanders in the year 2000 from the lowest area of Duke of York Island. In this delicate and interrelated eco-and social system, a warmer planet also sets off a chain reaction, creating food and water shortages along with more and more climate refugees.

However, Mr. Lynas does not set out to dishearten readers about the future of the planet. Instead, he sends out an outright clear warning and urges for a massive international effort to combat global warming, just like “grabbing an extinguisher and dousing the flames.” Now that it is unequivocally known that this “fire” is caused by human related activities and based on the theoretical analyses, emission-induced temperature increases leave us with less than a decade until we reach the ‘six degree’ peak. As the table indicates we are already approaching the two degree level, thus our only choice to preserve this planet is to act quickly and reduce our carbon and methane emissions.

DEGREE CHANGE	TEMPERATURE CHANGE IN CELSIUS	CO2 TARGET
One Degree	0.1- 1.0ºC	350ppm (today’s level is 380ppm)
Two Degrees	1.1- 2.0 ºC	400ppm
Three Degrees	2.1- 3.0 ºC	450ppm
Four Degrees	3.1- 4.0 ºC	550ppm
Five Degrees	4.1- 5.0 ºC	650ppm
Six Degrees	5.1- 5.8 ºC	800ppm

Six Degrees is a clarion call to everyone that the Earth is in a critical situation; it is time especially for political leaders and policy makers to implement measures that reduce carbon and other greenhouse gases such as methane. As human beings’ activities are undeniably to blame for this rapid rate of current climate change, we need to adopt happier, healthier and more connected lifestyles through such practices as sustainable energies and the vegetarian (vegan) lifestyle to save our Earth. There is only a very limited time for us to make the turn-around. Global warming is real; and it concerns all beings on this planet, so let's act now to cool down our Earth.