One million species face extinction, U.N. panel says. And humans will suffer as a result

Up to 1 million plant and animal species are on the verge of extinction, with devastating implications for human survival, according to a United Nations report released Monday.

Moe Flannery of the California Academy of Sciences inspected
a dead grey whale in Tiburon, Calif., last month – one of seven
whales that have washed up on the shores of the San Francisco
Bay and along the coast in recent weeks. 

The report’s findings underscore the conclusions of numerous scientific studies that say human activity is wreaking havoc on the wild kingdom, threatening the existence of everything from giant whales to small flowers and insects that are almost impossible to see with the naked eye.

But the global report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services goes a step further than previous studies by linking the loss of species to humans and analyzing its effect on food and water security, farming and economies.

Read the story from The Washington Post by Darryl Fears - “One million species face extinction, U.N. panel says. And humans will suffer as a result.”

UN warns world on track to breach 3C rise by 2100; last year was fourth warmest on record

Last year was the fourth warmest year on record and the outlook is for more sizzling heat approaching levels that most view as dangerous for humankind on the Earth, a United Nations report has shown.

A rise of 3 degrees Celsius could have disastrous consequences.

The new report said the world was on track to have average global temperatures rise to 3 degrees Celsius by 2100, as record levels of man-made greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from burning fossil fuels, is trapping more heat in the Earth's atmosphere.

In 2015, almost 200 governments adopted the Paris climate agreement to phase out the use of fossil fuels and limit the rise in temperatures between 1.5C to 2C, to avert "dangerous" man-made climate change.

Read the story from ABC News - “UN warns world on track to breach 3C rise by 2100; last year was fourth warmest on record.”

The Climate Change Solution That Could Spark Global War

It could be any country, but let’s say it’s Vietnam.

Geoengineering has the potential to start a global war.

The year is 2069. World governments failed to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 — the deadline set in a 2018 United Nations report — setting off a chain of rapid warming. Megastorms and wildfires regularly kill hundreds and displace tens of thousands, and coastal cities are abandoning low-lying neighborhoods to the rising sea. Freshwater and food are in short supply as drought dries wellsprings and parches the Mekong Delta’s rice basket.

In an effort to provide some relief and rein in the chaos, global superpowers decide to block out the sun.

Read the story from Medium by Alexander C. Kaufman - "The Climate Change Solution That Could Spark Global War."