Online climate simulator

C-Learn is a simplified online climate simulator you can use to play with possible CO2 emission scenarios. It may take you a few minutes to figure out how to change the input variables, and what do they mean exactly, but once you get the hang of it its a very sobering exercise.

I just spent some time trying to bring us down to a temperature increase of “only” 2 degrees Celsius, and when I got there (hint: you pretty much need a reduction in emissions of at least 90% from 1990 levels across the board, and huge efforts in stopping deforestation and increasing afforestation, which is what our best current models demand as well) I started playing with delay tactics –what if we wait a few years to start getting serious about stopping our emissions; what if developing countries get a few years’ handicap– and mostly hitting against a wall in every case (with one exception: action in developed countries is far more urgent than in developing ones).

So give it a try and pass it around. The more people know about the true magnitude of the mess we’re in, the better.

(via Jon Pipitone)