Erwin Schroedinger apparenty said "I hate that bloody cat."
His wonderfully eloquent mental model of understanding the fine margin between being alive and not being alive haunted him like an actor's soap opera persona. I'm not sure how many people care about the science, but don't you dare hurt a cat.
One and a half degrees doesn't seem like much, but the problem is that when we reduce things to a number, they lose personality and context. Most of us wouldn't even notice it if we were out walking, but applied over large, varied areas, temperature increases of around one point one degrees matter. Inflexion points. Phase change.
They have ensured that the area around the Mediterranean is burning, from Turkey to Tunisia, and the forecast is that by the end of the century, the areas around the Med will be desert. I lived for five years in Cyprus, and earlier this year I watched places I know and love in the Troodos Mountains go up in smoke, and that feels personal. Then there is Australia, a…
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