Evelyn Waugh once said that two people writing a book together is like three people getting together to have a baby. Everybody laughed at the absurdity of it -- until in vitro and surrogate pregnancy became recognized alternatives. But what to make of 234 scientists getting together to produce a 3000+ page report? Not so funny when you consider their findings.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Sixth Assessment Report has sharpened its predictions from its last go-around in 2013, and they're not pretty. In fact, I would call them chilling if it didn't make me sound like I wasn't taking these forecasts seriously. As the planet continues to warm, not only will we continue to get extreme weather conditions, but multiple extremes at once. Even if we were to achieve net-zero tomorrow, we are locked into a sea level rise of between 6-12 inches by mid-century.
Last week I spoke with brand new parents at the park near my home. Their baby is all of three weeks old and responded to the shade passing over her face from her father's arm. I thought of their baby this morning after reading up on some of these climate forecasts and what is in our power to turn them around. I also thought of her parents, who will only be in their late-fifties by mid-century and still going to work every day. Her mother, a structural engineer specializing in retention, will be busy.
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