Greenhouse gas emissions are on track to cause catastrophic global warming of 4 Celsius by 2070 devastating American agriculture and the earth's ecosystems according to a volume of reports published today by the Royal Society.
Temperature changes of between 4 and 8°C are projected in the summer across various temperate and tropical regions for a global 4°C temperature rise [42]. This suggests that these adaptive capacities might be exceeded, especially in the areas with the larger temperate rises such as the USA, the Mediterranean and many parts of Africa [42]. Many of these studies do not include damage caused by concomitant increases in tropospheric ozone and extreme weather events, and so the estimated adaptive capacities might be over-optimistic. For ecosystems, while adaptation to a 2°C world is considered feasible, the options for adapting, either naturally or with human assistance, to a 4°C world are extremely limited, since at these temperatures few ecosystems would be expected to be able to maintain their current functioning [43].
continued at Daily Kos....
