# What is the worst single consequence of global warming? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 14, 2016, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-single-consequence-of-global-warming/772001 "2016-11-14T20:55:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-single-consequence-of-global-warming/772001/1 "2016-11-14T20:55:57Z")
Is it rising ocean levels? That’s what I seem to hear about the most. Or is there something else that’s going to be worse? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-single-consequence-of-global-warming/772001/2 "2016-11-14T21:05:31Z")
[Changes in weather patterns.](https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/weather-climate) > [@](#): > > Rising global average temperature is associated with widespread changes in weather patterns. Scientific studies indicate that extreme weather events such as heat waves and large storms are likely to become more frequent or more intense with human-induced climate change. This chapter focuses on observed changes in temperature, precipitation, storms, floods, and droughts. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-single-consequence-of-global-warming/772001/3 "2016-11-14T21:16:30Z")
What about property damage? Won’t climate change cause endless trillions in property damage from destruction of coastal real estate? Or is that the same category as rising ocean levels? Acidification of the ocean is also a concern, carbon dioxide dissolves in the ocean and reduces pH. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-single-consequence-of-global-warming/772001/4 "2016-11-14T21:29:16Z")
The two main things will be: 1. More extreme weather. Stronger tornadoes, stronger hurricanes, etc. The flooding of the East Coast and Hurricane Katrina are both, **potentially** , results of climate change. This is problematic since we tend to build things based on the level of calamity that we expect to actually encounter. If the level of calamity rises, we have a lot of structures that aren’t engineered to handle it. 2. A changing globe. Dry regions will become more dry. Ideal growing zones will migrate North. Shipping lanes may open up North of Canada. And so on. For countries around the Sahara, this will potentially be a major, possibly famine-causing problem. For Canada and Russia, it might end up a good thing. But on the whole, it will be disruptive to the world’s status quo. Marketplaces will shift around, making some locations no longer profitable while others require steep investment to get up to production requirements. The strategic importance of certain places (like the Panama Canal) might go away, meaning that new locations will need to found and fought over - with the potential for armed conflict occurring each time there’s a struggle. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-single-consequence-of-global-warming/772001/5 "2016-11-14T22:14:36Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Acidification of the ocean is also a concern, carbon dioxide dissolves in the ocean and reduces pH. I remember how the ones investigating the issue call that the “\*\*other \*\* equally evil twin” when talking about the most expected consequences. Just another reason why it will be more expensive to wait doing something about the issue that is the result of treating our atmosphere as a sewer. > **[Ocean Acidification](https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/invertebrates/ocean-acidification)** ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-single-consequence-of-global-warming/772001/6 "2016-11-14T22:37:46Z")
**running coach** gave the in-depth answer but I’ll give the simple one: changing weather patterns could wreck havoc on our farms. Imagine what will happen to our food supply if the Great Plains and the Sonoran Desert switch rainfall patterns. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-single-consequence-of-global-warming/772001/7 "2016-11-15T00:26:11Z")
**Sage Rat’s** #2. In the end, Earth will be much the same, but arid and arable regions will wander all over the political map and cause untold havoc in war, famine, and political strife. You do know that the food megacorps are buying up water rights in the northern part of North America - vast tracts of them, for nickels, and for no immediate purpose. “Ice Pirates” may not seem so absurd in 50 years. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-single-consequence-of-global-warming/772001/8 "2016-11-15T00:52:58Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Acidification of the ocean is also a concern, carbon dioxide dissolves in the ocean and reduces pH. This is one that is most overlooked. At the current acidification rate, we’re expected to reduce marine life by 30% by 2100. [FAQ About Ocean Acidification](https://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=83380&tid=3622&cid=131410) The other is the feedback loops created by warming at the poles, which has begun to melt permafrost and release massive amounts of methane into the atmosphere. Methane is, as I’m sure you know, 23 times more potent as a green house gas in the short term and will dangerously accelerate global warming. [Arctic Methane Emissions Greater Than Previous Estimates](http://www.climatechangenews.com/2016/01/06/arctic-methane-emissions-greater-than-previous-estimates/) ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-single-consequence-of-global-warming/772001/9 "2016-11-15T01:05:58Z")
I that climate refugees could also be a major problem as patterns of agriculture change and in areas which simply get too hot or too far underwater for a population to stay put. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-single-consequence-of-global-warming/772001/10 "2016-11-15T01:25:55Z")
Ocean acidification for sure. If the pH of the oceans were to change over a long period of time it might be possible that evolution could compensate. On the time scales caused by climate change, no chance. This will be catastrophic to marine life and this can have domino effects. In second place (by a slim margin in my view), would have to be changes to soil arability. Such changes can negatively impact crop production at a local level and global distribution simply isn’t a reality. There is already a severe food shortage predicted by 2050, and many of the crop production models do not take into account climate change. Those that do are grim. A local food shortage (negative food security) impacts socio-political stability and so has the capability to have far reaching impact. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-single-consequence-of-global-warming/772001/11 "2016-11-15T02:27:11Z")
Something that will effect coastal areas that are above the mean sea level rise is saltwater incursion into freshwater aquifers so even locations that aren’t underwater may not have fresh water to drink. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-single-consequence-of-global-warming/772001/12 "2016-11-15T11:12:40Z")
Water wars. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-single-consequence-of-global-warming/772001/13 "2016-11-15T13:16:34Z")
That we are divided when we need to be united … ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-single-consequence-of-global-warming/772001/14 "2016-11-15T13:29:04Z")
Speculatively, the worst potential GW consequence is the firing of the [clathrate gun.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clathrate_gun_hypothesis) ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-single-consequence-of-global-warming/772001/15 "2016-11-15T19:38:24Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > Speculatively, the worst potential GW consequence is the firing of the [clathrate gun.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clathrate_gun_hypothesis) True, the worst possible outcome of climate change is an extinction event. We would be looking at things like these: > **[Great Oxidation Event](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Oxygenation_Event)** > > The Great Oxidation Event (GOE) or Great Oxygenation Event, also called the Oxygen Catastrophe, Oxygen Revolution, Oxygen Crisis or Oxygen Holocaust, was a time interval during the Earth's Paleoproterozoic era when the Earth's atmosphere and shallow seas first experienced a rise in the concentration of free oxygen. This began approximately 2.460–2.426 Ga (billion years) ago during the Siderian period and ended approximately 2.060 Ga ago during the Rhyacian. Geological, isotopic and chemi The ap... > **[Anoxic event](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anoxic_event)** > > An anoxic event describes a period wherein large expanses of Earth's oceans were depleted of dissolved oxygen (O2), creating toxic, euxinic (anoxic and sulfidic) waters. Although anoxic events have not happened for millions of years, the geologic record shows that they happened many times in the past. Anoxic events coincided with several mass extinctions and may have contributed to them. These mass extinctions include some that geobiologists use as time markers in biostratigraphic dating.\[3 Human... While no one currently thinks that we’re at risk for any of these, fundamentally we don’t know where the tipping point is at which the global ecosystem suddenly flips into kill mode. So while we think we’re safe, it’s really a crap shoot. ---
**Author:** ![Karen\_Lingel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karen_lingel/32/18649_2.png) [@Karen\_Lingel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karen_Lingel)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-single-consequence-of-global-warming/772001/16 "2016-11-15T20:52:15Z")
Loss of our food supply. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2016, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-single-consequence-of-global-warming/772001/17 "2016-11-16T22:45:39Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > **Sage Rat’s** #2. In the end, Earth will be much the same, but arid and arable regions will wander all over the political map and cause untold havoc in war, famine, and political strife. Let’s stab through this canard. Due to simple geometry, fertile regions would shrink over much of the Earth’s land, and _also the oceans_. Loss of the Amazon (and African) rain forests is imminent and _there is no major replacement in sight._ And of course, the warmed Earth will have less hospitable weather. Mr. **Gigo**? I’m sure I missed several of the rebuttals for Mr. **Amateur** ’s claim. > [@BeepKillBeep](#): > > Ocean acidification for sure. If the pH of the oceans were to change over a long period of time it might be possible that evolution could compensate. On the time scales caused by climate change, no chance. This will be catastrophic to marine life and this can have domino effects. Yes, those who cite that climate jumps have occurred in the past, overlook that many of those jumps were slower than this one. And primates don’t have millions of years, not even hundreds of years, to react or evolve. [QUOTE=Karen Lingel] Loss of our food supply. [/QUOTE] Yes, high human population makes ecological changes more threatening (if human numbers are to be maintained). ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2016, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-single-consequence-of-global-warming/772001/18 "2016-11-17T02:28:05Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Let’s stab through this canard. Due to simple geometry, fertile regions would shrink over much of the Earth’s land, and _also the oceans_. Loss of the Amazon (and African) rain forests is imminent and _there is no major replacement in sight._ And of course, the warmed Earth will have less hospitable weather. Mr. **Gigo**? I’m sure I missed several of the rebuttals for Mr. **Amateur** ’s claim. That’s Mr. Barbarian, to you. I don’t disagree - but the immediate and fairly short-term movement of arable regions and available water will spark horrific geopolitical clashes long before reductions in food production reach major effect. The OP is “worst single consequence” and I think global warfare of unprecedented ferocity and savage nature fits that bill. For one thing, it will effectively prohibit any meaningful efforts to correct or adapt to the other problems on a meaningful scale, so a planet that ultimately can only support a billion people will be of little concern to the 500 million survivors. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2016, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-single-consequence-of-global-warming/772001/19 "2016-11-17T11:07:04Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > Speculatively, the worst potential GW consequence is the firing of the [clathrate gun.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clathrate_gun_hypothesis) Not really. This has happened before and the Earth is still here. Or rather, it depends upon the timescale. If you’re looking at 50-100 years, then yes, great changes may happen, but in 1000 years time, even if the worst happens, it will just be noted as another population migration. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2016, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-single-consequence-of-global-warming/772001/20 "2016-11-17T11:44:35Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Not really. This has happened before and the Earth is still here. Then name a worse consequence of GW. “The Earth is still here” is a peculiar standard. [The Earth was once struck by a Mars sized planet named Theia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant-impact_hypothesis) and it’s still here. Destroying the Earth is pretty hard. To do that would require something like it falling into the sun or being consumed by a rogue black hole. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-worst-single-consequence-of-global-warming/772001.md?page=2)