/sci/ - Science & Math

>>9548011
>On a scale of 1 to 10 how fucked is the environment?
It's impossible to know the true impact.

Only about 5% of the world's seafloor has been mapped in some detail. Since the ocean occupies roughly 70% of the Earth's surface, this leaves approximately 65% of the Earth (excluding dry land) unexplored.
I'll say that again.
65% of the Earth unexplored.

For instance, we recently JUST discovered that there's an entire ecosystem under the ice of Antarctica. And just as we discover it, it's going to die due to increasing temperatures and increased light exposure. We were lucky to catch a glimpse of this ecosystem before it dies but I don't think we'll get to study it. Who knows what can be learned. Perhaps the life has some form of antifreeze that would make cryogenic hibernation a possibility, or some other medical advances.

The fact is we don't know how badly we're screwing up, and those in charge are burring their heads in the sand because all signs indicate that it's bad, and they're all afraid of how bad it really is. It reminds me of when the idea was 1st proposed surgeons should wash their hands before operation. Doctors refused to believe they were causing infection because they didn't want to know how badly they fucked up. Same fear based logic applies here, but on a massive global scale.