A massive carbon footprint
During a discussion about future possibilities, an acquaintance of mine and I got to talking about nuclear war. My friend brought up Carl Sagan's work predicting that a killing-cold nuclear winter would follow such a war. I reminded him that since a nuclear war would target most major cities in the world, as a result of the burning of those cities that would follow from such a war, so much carbon dioxide would be liberated that that nuclear winter would be all too short, perhaps only a year in length, and would be immediately followed by a swift rise in global temperatures, perhaps a catastrophic one.
Is this important? Yes, it is. Instead of just one heavy hit against us and our world, two such hits would be delivered by a nuclear war: the war itself, and drastic climate change to follow. After a year or two, the cloud cover of nuclear winter would still be in place, but temperatures would be climbing rapidly to very uncomfortable levels. Think of living in permanent Los Angeles inversion conditions, and you'll have it -- the ultimate long, hot summer.
Why am I thinking about this now? I have no idea. Maybe somebody, somewhere will find this interesting. So I made this entry out of it.
Is this important? Yes, it is. Instead of just one heavy hit against us and our world, two such hits would be delivered by a nuclear war: the war itself, and drastic climate change to follow. After a year or two, the cloud cover of nuclear winter would still be in place, but temperatures would be climbing rapidly to very uncomfortable levels. Think of living in permanent Los Angeles inversion conditions, and you'll have it -- the ultimate long, hot summer.
Why am I thinking about this now? I have no idea. Maybe somebody, somewhere will find this interesting. So I made this entry out of it.