LiesAmongFlowers

From the page: "These days, dire warnings arenâ€t the delusional raving of cranks. Theyâ€re what come out of the most widely respected climate models, devised by the leading researchers. The prognosis for the planet has gotten much, much worse in just the last few years.

Whatâ€s driving this new pessimism? Partly itâ€s the fact that some predicted changes, like a decline in Arctic Sea ice, are happening much faster than expected. Partly itâ€s growing evidence that feedback loops amplifying the effects of man-made greenhouse gas emissions are stronger than previously realized. For example, it has long been understood that global warming will cause the tundra to thaw, releasing carbon dioxide, which will cause even more warming, but new research shows far more carbon locked in the permafrost than previously thought, which means a much bigger feedback effect.

The result of all this is that climate scientists have, en masse, become Cassandras â€" gifted with the ability to prophesy future disasters, but cursed with the inability to get anyone to believe them.

And weâ€re not just talking about disasters in the distant future, either. The really big rise in global temperature probably wonâ€t take place until the second half of this century, but there will be plenty of damage long before then. "