Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Kind of feels like an octopus problem...

On the one hand, the bleak reality is that we'll almost certainly be extinct by the time this becomes an issue. But on the other hand, at least this one isn't our fault.
Instead it will be a problem whatever species dominates the Earth 
hundreds of millions of years from now. Let's say, octopuses?
It's back, and this time it's geological.
Pangaea 2: Coming Fall 250,002,2023.
I'm referring, of course, to this article from Science.org about a recent study released by scientists at the University of Bristol which suggests that the impending supercontinent will make the Earth uninhabitable for mammals. And by impending, I mean in two hundred and fifty million years. According to geologists, but that time, the landmasses we're all familiar with: that is America and, you know, the other ones, will have continentally drifted into Pangaea 2: The Re-Pangaea-ing

No, no hover cars either. Face it,
hover cars just aren't going to happen.
Theoretically you'd be able to drive to any point on land. I say theoretically because there probably won't be cars 250,000,000 years from now. But whatever, the idea is that more continent means more continental interior, and since continental interiors--and again I'm not a scientist, I'm just parroting the article we both know you didn't click on--tend to be more dry and generally boring (think Colorado), leading to more CO₂ in the atmosphere and consequently higher temperatures. 

"Weeeee!"
-us
The point is that the CO₂ levels will be anywhere from the about levels we see now to double the levels we see now. Higher CO₂ levels leads to higher temperatures which necessarily constricts the available environment for mammals. Which I mean, nothing we do has any bearing on the movement of the continental plates. We and our entire civilization just sort of ride around on them like so many flat earthers on the Great Slab or Disc or whatever it is they believe in. In this one instance, this one climate catastrophe will be 100% not our fault.

Although the fact that the mass extinction caused by the supercontinent would be the direct result of CO₂ levels at best comparable to today's gives me pause. It kind of sounds like our civilization is as bad for climate stability as a super continent, runaway volcanism, and an even brighter sun. Should we be worried? 
"Should we be--yes! Goddamn yes! We should all be terrified!"
-literally all scientists in the world

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