General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsScientists Have Uncovered a Disturbing Climate Change Precedent
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/08/earths-scorching-hot-history/566762/This is what you get in an ancient atmosphere with around 1,000 parts per million (ppm) of carbon dioxide. If this number sounds familiar, 1,000 ppm of CO2 is around what humanity is on pace to reach by the end of this century. That should be mildly concerning.
Welcome to the future. Invest in farmland in Siberia and Canada.
tonyt53
(5,737 posts)canetoad
(17,179 posts)The earth's plates have moved around a lot. However the planet had a location we now call the North Pole at 90 degrees North.
csziggy
(34,137 posts)Here is a view of the continents about 50 million years ago:
http://dinosaurpictures.org/ancient-earth/#50
At that site you can select what time you want to view - it's interesting.
The Arctic and Antarctic were not that different then than they are now.
ffr
(22,671 posts)So in a way, humans are releasing millions of years of sequestered Sunlight within a century or two.
A Solar Power Bank
All the energy in oil, gas, and coal originally came from the sun, captured through photosynthesis. In the same way that we burn wood to release energy that trees capture from the sun, we burn fossil fuels to release the energy that ancient plants captured from the sun. We can think of this energy as having been deposited in a natural solar power bank over millions of years. - MTU.edu
roamer65
(36,747 posts)spinbaby
(15,090 posts)Switzerland, Germany, now the Alsace region of France. The grass is kind of crunchy, trees are turning brown from prolonged heat and drought. All anyone seems to talk about is climate change. Ive learned how many days of heat and how hot, how everything blooms a month earlier nowadays, how the vineyards are suffering.