Conversation

Yikes.

As if we didn't already have enough reasons to quit burning carbon. Not by 2050 or 2040, but NOW.

"Another climate tipping point to worry about: Plankton"
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Rising temperatures could transform plankton and other tiny aquatic organisms into a huge source of carbon emissions, a little-known — and potentially catastrophic — climate tipping point that could accelerate global warming.

A study, published Thursday in Functional Ecology, found that rising temperatures cause a sudden shift in these microbes’ eating habits, flipping them from carbon absorbers to carbon emitters.

No one knows just how much carbon these microorganisms could release, and this tipping point hasn’t yet been considered in climate models. But it could be quite substantial, because they’re among the world’s most abundant organisms, living in the ocean, lakes, peatlands, and other bodies of water.

“Here we have these understudied microbes that are probably the dominant microbes in the world,” said Daniel Wieczynski, an author of the study and a biology researcher at Duke University. “And suddenly we’ve realized that they could be the architects of catastrophic consequences of climate change.”
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Selfish and greedy capitalists continue pushing "Business As Usual" simply to make more money -- but they're messing with the health and safety of our entire ecosystem!

This is no joke. Everything you care about is in grave danger. It can't be allowed go on like this.

FULL ARTICLE -- https://grist.org/science/plankton-climate-tipping-point-carbon-emissions/

#Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #ClimateEmergency #CO2 #Emissions