Editing Talk:Stop climate change/Pending FAQs (section)

==FAQ - Science==
;"Are you sure that people are to blame for climate change, and it's not just a natural phenomenon?"
: Yes. {{pn|1 degree per million years vs 1 degree per century}} {{talk|ALT question phrasing: "But are you really sure that climate change is caused by human activities?"}}

;"But CO2 is only 0.04% of our atmosphere, how can it affect the temperature so much?"
: Similar to how just a small drop of ink can make a whole bucket of water darker (which btw would make it warm up more in the sun).
: Sunlight travels through the whole atmosphere, where it interacts with a lot of CO2 molecules on its way. The CO2 turns the [[electromagnetic spectrum#infrared|infrared rays]] into heat. So even a small difference in CO2 levels can make a big difference in temperature.
<tab style="inline-block" name="Table">
{{pn|This is a DRAFT. All these numbers need to be verified!}}
{|class="wikitable"
|350 ppm
|0.035% CO2
|Pre-industrial level (what nature adapted to for the last million years)
|-
|400 ppm
|0.040% CO2
|1 degree of warming. Reached in 1999
|}
</tab>
See also: [[Climate tipping points]]

;"But it's only 1.5 degrees warmer, why is that such a big deal?"
* Weather fluctuations span more degrees
* Polar ice melting
* Ocean acidification (caused directly by co2, not temperature)
* Loss of agricultural land {{talk|elaborate, and also what about how much land would become cultivatable when it was too cold before}}
* Endangered species die {{en}} {{talk|merge this question with "faq - introduction" question, or what?}}

;"But when a floating ice cube melts in water, the water level doesn't go up?"
: The polar ice isn't all floating in water. Much of it is on land, such as the Greenland ice sheet. When that melts, it runs off into the oceans, which absolutely can cause them to rise.

;"But they said that California would be underwater by now?"
: California would be underwater **'''if'''** enough arctic ice melts. The exact timeframe depends on whether people decide to stop causing climate change or not.
: When scientists make specific predictions about the future, they come with a whole lot of "if"s that journalists often forget to mention.
: As information spreads word-of-mouth, people often get confused about whether scientists said "maybe" or "definitely". A specific timeline prediction of climate change is a "maybe". The fact that fossil fuels are causing climate change is a "definitely".

;"But scientists can't agree on anything bro?"
: Centuries ago, scientists used to disagree on basic physics and chemistry. Now these things are known for sure. (Almost everything invented & built depends on that understanding. (For example, computers wouldn't even exist if basic physics & chemistry were wrong.))
: But of course there are more things that scientists don't know or don't agree on. That's where the research is.
: In other words, sometimes scientists say "maybe", sometimes scientists say "definitely" - but that nuance tends to get lost when people have discussions or share news articles. Things get bad when even government policy makers confuse the "maybe"s with the "definitely"s. {{talk|TODO: add examples:{{pbr}}~ Including covid policies in some cases, but not as much as anti-vaxxers would like you to think.{{pbr}}~ A more concrete example is in psychiatry, how badly patients are treated (especially in the early 1900s){{pbr}}~ Also historically how badly children are treated in schools, typically motivated by speculative theories about what children need}} {{talk|Should this question be in a separate section called "FAQ - Philosophy"?}}

;"In the 70s they said there would be an ice age? What happened?"
: What, an ice age in a million years from now? Not the same as the relatively rapid warming caused by fossil fuel usage. {{talk|See also: Make a page to debunk that meme about "acid rain will destroy us all", "cfcs will destroy us all (no ozone layer)", "global warming will destroy us all". Maybe mention something about peak oil too}}

;"But the Earth's temperatures go through natural cycles (ice ages etc), I thought nature can adapt?"
: Nature can adapt when it's 1 degree per million years. Not when it's 1 degree per century (this past century). {{talk|TODO: link to xkcd illustration of this}}

;"But volcanoes emit more carbon?"
: {{empty}}

;"But people breathe out CO2"
: {{pn|TODO: quantify. Simplest comparison: Food calories vs fossil fuel calories burned. Same ratio for CO2 emitted, because food and fuel emit roughly the same amount of carbon per unit of energy}}

;"But people have always emitted co2?"
: "Recent data reveals that global CO2 emissions were 182 times higher in 2022 than they were in 1850, around the time the Industrial Revolution was underway." - [Jun 3, 2024 - The History of Carbon Dioxide Emissions](https://www.wri.org/insights/history-carbon-dioxide-emissions)

;"But H2O (water vapor) is a greenhouse gas too, shouldn't you ban water emissions or something?"
: No. If you were to somehow put more water in the atmosphere, it wouldn't stay there for long - it condenses and becomes rain.