In conversations about the climate crisis, it can be hard to dispel persistent myths about climate change. One of the most common myths is “Climate change is nothing new: the climate is always changing.” (See page 32 of The Carbon Almanac)
Technically, that myth is both true and a fallacy. Yes, climate changes happen– over the last 200,000 years or so the human species has survived some dramatic shifts. A stable climate is not a condition for human life, but it is the basis for the civilization in which humans have thrived and multiplied for the last 10,000 years. The problem right now is how quickly our global climate is becoming unstable.
In its website section about climate stability, Probable Futures documents the science behind that assertion. Their simple explanation is that in the last 10,000 years the global climate has been remarkably stable. This enabled humans to stay put and create settlements, develop agriculture and build cities. The loss of that stability puts civilization as we know it at risk. The video on this page explains the science, history, and current crisis in about four minutes. However, it’s just one of the valuable resources you’ll find on this nicely-designed website.
As Probable Futures describes it: “This platform offers interactive maps, science, historical context, and stories to help us all envision a range of climate futures.” The maps enable you to explore climate probabilities anywhere in the world. They make the science clear and to help you move from the abstraction of a global challenge to local understanding and action based on where you live.