I have been warning anyone who would listen about this for 50 years. I am now 70 and have seen the changes with my own eyes already happening around us. People don't seem to be willing to make any change in lifestyles because they don't percieve that it has affected them personally. It seems to be difficult for humans, particularly Americans to think non-linearly. This is a curve that is rapidly steepening but until the flood, fire, volcano, drought or oher disaster is immediately upon us nothing will suddenly change and by then it is too late. I don't think science can solve this because people won't listen to scientists in time. The general public is certainly not scared enough. sadly!

Ice loss from the Greenland ice sheet is much worse that you think because it involves much more than merely losing ice. Currently, Greenland's ice sheet is losing approximately 300 000 000 000 tons of ice per year. The rate is increasing exponentially and in radical steps because of many different factors, though the initial driver is the rise in temperature. If this were sea ice, we would see no net change in sea level, but this is sheet ice resting on the crust and the crust in turn is resting on the plastic material of the mantel. Below are a couple of videos that might help in understanding the major issues.

This one is a brief description of the loss from the Greenland ice sheet.

There is some drama presented in this CNN special report, but there is considerable important information as well.

Among other changes beyond sea level rise, there is the reasonable expectation of increased seismic and volcanic activity resulting from plate springback (post glacial uplift), the crust under the ice sheet rises as the weight of the ice is removed. The dying off of sea life because of temperature changes, modification of subsurface currents, salinity, and acidity resulting from the influx of fresh water.

Severe weather systems as a result of global warming we are seeing in real time now, but it should be known that it is going to get much worse. Everything has a thing I like to call 'flywheel effect' where one thing changes and there exists a time lag before some other change will make itself apparent. I am not sad about all this. I am extremely angry. I have been one sounding alarms over these changes since my experiences in the far north, particularly Alaska and across the top of Canada. That began in 1964/65.

I think the EPA was doing good work until POS45 , started reversing laws that were in place to protect the future . Climate change does exist , and flooding in both Florida and Texas in recent years has proven that . And it's going to get worse .

I am sorry to say that your fears are well-founded. It appears that we have about ten years in which to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions in order to keep global temperature rise under 2 degrees Celsius. Beyond 2 degrees, feedbacks in the natural system kick in and temperatures spiral upward uncontrollably. Feedback mechanisms include things like decrease on Earth's albedo (reflectivity) due to disappearance of ice cover, and massive increase in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations (and consequent temperature increase) due to melting permafrost. If proposals to add sulphur dioxide to the atmosphere to counteract the loss of albedo sound crazy, you are right. The acid rain resulting from such so-called geoengineering would devastate our agriculture (and forests). Technologies that can suck CO2 out of the atmosphere are in development, but they will be expensive and will have to be implemented on a massive scale. Bottom line: tough times ahead.

Climate worriers, stop, the solar cycle that has caused the global warming has ended, and now the sun is entering a cooling phase, all natural and predictable Google "Maunder Minimum" you will also find CO2 increases plant growth and a greening effect can already be seen, most of the news about climate has been exaggerated by Fake news organisations, all to pump the idea of a carbon credit exchange system where they can milk millions more from the gullible public, stop reading the propaganda and do your own research into the facts, man made global warming has been a HOAX and most fell for it because of a clever press system lying to you all the time, most believe what they are told and cannot believe the press would lie about something as important as this!!! but they have, they have been caught faking the figures on warming and when corrected show no warming happening, Arctic ice is now expanding all checkable folks, the last time a Maunder Minimum happened we entered a mini ice age, with frost fares on the Thames, search maunder minimum and solar cooling cycles and find out what I say is true, sorry folks your bubbles that your living in have been manufactured to manipulate you, but a search will reveal the liars. kind regards Peter

Richard Feynman on the scientific method:

Catastrophic Anthropogenic Global Warming(CAGW) was an interesting theory that has been refuted by experience. Worry about something else.

Once again be careful who you vote for and put into office, those Republicans don't believe in global warming, can you imagine if Gore was rightfully elected President.

I tend to be an optimist. There are a myriad of things we can do. We have to start by getting the oligarchs out of office and elect politicians who understand science so we can formulate a plan. Remember, during the Roman and Medieval warm periods it was much warmer than it is now and those warm periods were times when humans thrived. That being said, green house gases are a big concern that could allow things go get out of control this time.

Nope. All fake news. An orange orangutan told me.

I volunteer at a local hospital. Every time a child is born, the hospital plays a short version of Brahm's Lullaby. At one time I would had had a warm feeling about another life coming into the world. All I feel now, is sadness thinking about that child's future. The loss of biodiversity is also a reason for sadness. I sometimes think that climate change deniers, a vast majority of which are evangelicals, believe they will be raptured away before the bad effects (The Tribulation) hit us. This so, even though evangelicals have contributed greatly to global warming.

Yes, I am terrified. I think governments are just going to have to be very firm, no more single use plastic, no unnecessary air travel, hugely improve rail and public transport. Then encourage repopulation of bees, fish etc. We can do it but not until the population stops seeing this as lead by a fringe group of dreadlocked hippies and start realising this is REAL.

Yeah, me too. I tell people that I am an Atheist and a bit of a nihilist -- I see no ultimate meaning or very long term future for the human race.

But that said, I never imagined that I might live to see the serious start of the end. I constantly wonder what people are thinking about the fates of their children.

The evidence for climate change is overwhelming. In 2018 the Great Barrier Reef was declared dead. Several independent sources warn of the collapse of the Great Plains water source by 2040. Climate models are coljaborated with air samples from the Greenland Ice Sheet going back 15,000 years. Climate change gappens over decades, not milennia. Human contributions accelerate natural cycles.
Fear, though, as they say, is the mind-killer. It is healthier to ask yourself how you can adapt. Denial just sliws your ability to adapt. The religious wingnuts will attribure change to God, and throw up their hands helplessly. Relying on ither bureaucracies to solve the problem is futile. Focus on how you can adapt and position yourself. For me, it’s reducing my iwn carbon footprint, reducing my energy consumption and demand for material things. Let the deniers slip into olivion as you thrive.

take a deep breath..global warming reports you read are alarmist. climates change drastically & have done so way before the CO2 scare.
you mention melting ice caps. try this simple experiment. put an ice cube in a glass fill the glass to the top with water. what happens when the ice melts?

Denial and fatalism run rampant. It is rather apparent in just this thread. Not the sort of people I'd want on board in a blow or accompanying me into the wilderness. Oh well.

you are right to be alarmed but that should empower you to take and demand action . . we need more of this!!

It snowed in many places in the US and Canada on the first day of Summer. That is not normal.

I had an exceptionally bad childhood, and as a result, did not have any illusions about just how bad the world could be. I never wanted children because I did not want to drag anyone into a world that is clearly FUBAR, and the older I got the more I saw that convinced me of the rightness of that mode of thinking. Yes there is also a great deal of beauty in the world, but some of it is illusion. We have political leaders who deny it all, and at the same time are trying to block the sun . . . . they know, but their avarice will not allow them to stop.
Unfortunately, it is not global warning that I see as the greatest danger, although with no doubt, it is certainly a great danger. Our greatest danger is those who put us in this situation, and the weapons that they have on hand, nuclear weapons. Scientists have said that just a small conflict between two small countries, for example, India and Pakistan, could cause the demise of the human race, and I see no reasons to disregard that idea.
What is happening now is the world is over-populated, and our government is trying to conquer as much territory as possible for the resources that these territories have. No doubt their ultimate goal is world domination, but even if they were to accomplish that, it would not stop what is clearly in motion. The more likely scenario though is that some nation will come to the realization that it has no way out, and being cornered, will let loose with all its nuclear weapons, and humanity will be wiped out. I no longer think that it is a question of IF, but a question of WHEN.
Either way, there are two huge threats to human existence that have been poo-pooed for so long that humans have become complacent and eventually it will all catch up to them. There are no words that one could or should say to comfort those who come to this realization, because it is to late, that water is under the bridge already, it is what it is. Life is ephemeral, and no matter what your age, background, social status, it can be gone in an instant, there are no guarantees, promises, or even rights to it.
You should never stop fighting a behemoth simply because you expect it to trample you into the dust, you fight anyway, and this is the behemoth of our age. The mark of courage is not to turn away and run, it is to run headlong into the fray and oppose this behemoth in whatever way possible. It is simply the absurdity of existence.

I’ll be fine. I have air conditioning.

I was agnostic about AGW until I read James Hanson's book, "The Storms of My Grandchildren". I have two brothers who are pretty sharp guys, one is an engineer who thinks that we can't stop it. The other is a commercial builder who thinks that we will develop systems to sequester co2 in large enough amounts to turn the problem around. I don't know if we can stop it, but I suspect we will not be able to.

You are right that we are not doing anything about it. The US should be a leader but we only lead in exacerbating the problem by producing more fossil fuel. In second and third world countries as people pull themselves out of poverty the first things they want is a car and A/C.

It may be that the reason we haven’t encountered other intelligent life (aside from the deep space and time problem) is that life forms that evolve are so aggressive that they end up using all of the natural resources of their planet and end up killing all life there.

Sorry to tell you this, but we are still apes although we have turned into a runaway species on this planet. We will probably eventually make the commons unlivable and force our planet into the Venus syndrome killing all life here.

Absolutely scared

I too, am very concerned about the consequences of climate change, as well as the plastic and other waste that is floating in our oceans, rivers, and scatted in other places on earth. I am concerned about the destruction of the rain forests and the loss of ~80% of large land mammals and the same percentage of large ocean animals. I am concerned about the air pollution in India, China and now (again) in the United States. I remember the 1980's in Southern California when you couldn't see the San Bernardino mountains that were only a few miles away. During the last two years,as thanks to Trump, air pollution is on the increase in the U.S. I could go on, and I could also add details, and links to sources about climate change. However, others (like "Flyingsaucesir" ) have done this but it sees that those who deny climate change don't bother to read or think about the source materials. Literally 97% of the worlds scientists accept the scientific evidence, yet these few continue to deny. The general inability or laziness of so many in our society, especially here in the U.S., to think critically, to be interested enough to make an effort to be informed and knowledgeable... this is what worries me the most.

Worried about pollution but not scared at all. We should take care of the environment, be responsible citizens, the governments should have a plan, we should pay more taxes ... is all acceptable. However, the whole environment fear is overplayed. It is important but there are far more important issues above this phobia.... like children dying of hunger and violence.

Tomorrow, we will start beating up drums loud that raccoons are endangered and it will affect our lives.

This is exactly the things that turn off mainstream people. The elite, nerdish thinking of life that have no high relevance to people's day to day lives.

I have good news for you, the global warming we have been seeing is due to the Sun being in an active stage, perfectly natural, it has just finished this phase and is going into what is called the "Grand Maunder Minimum", search on YouTube, it is solar cooling, check the arctic ice build up that is now happening, you have nothing to worry about, the main reason you have been bombarded by this "hype" is the carbon exchange system designed to extract millions more from the public in their panic about fake global warming, they have been caught lying about the figures presented, we are going into a solar cooling phase , last time it happened we had a mini ice age, and frozen fairs on the Thames, more of a worry is the collapse of the financial system that looks likely, everyone should have three months of stored tinned and dried food stored for their families, and a method of purifying water, a lot of people will not prepare and they will look to steal your stored food. so you need a method of defence, like a self loading pistol crossbow or a catapult, both can maim someone in an emergency, store seeds and get a poly tunnel as the weather cools a lot of our food stuffs will not grow due to the shorter growing seasons, expect food shortages from weather destruction flooding and baking, crop losses in the usa are very high the same is happening world wide, so get prepared, I would rather have it and not need it that not have it and need it!!! think about what happens in a financial collapse, what if the electricity is no more? no more food in the shops? no sewage or water being pumped? this is all a possibility, but the more your prepared the less you worry, so start prepping and get some sleep bless you Peter