Climate Change: The End of Times

By Daniel Brouse and Sidd Mukherjee
July 2023

What will the "End of Times" look like?

"The era of global warming has ended and the era of 'global boiling' has arrived. Climate change is here. It is terrifying. And it is just the beginning", UN secretary general, António Guterres, said after scientists confirmed July 2023 was on track to be the world's hottest month on record.

In the 1990's, we wrote a paper on the worst-case scenario entitled, "The Impact of Governance & Globalization on Forecasting (The Tunnel Under Thesis)." The theory predicted that forecasting would become increasingly difficult. "The result -- a figurative, as well as, literal tunneling underground."

Since that time, forecasting has become increasing more difficult. "In general, as energy is added to a system, the fluctuations in the system increase. So, we expect more storms, more droughts, more wildfires, more floods, more fluctuations of all kinds. What we are saying is that weather conditions will become more volatile due to the impact of humans," said Mukherjee and Brouse. (2004)

In a report published in Nature entitled Over half of known human pathogenic diseases can be aggravated by climate change, data analyst and associate professor in the Department of Geography and Environment at the University of Hawaii Manoa, Camilo Mora, said climate hazards aggravated 58% of all known human pathogens. That is over half of infectious diseases discovered since the end of the Roman Empire. 58% of an authoritative list of infectious diseases documented to have impacted humanity have already been shown to be aggravated by climatic hazards -- a finding the researchers found "shocking," Mora said.

Movement of people and animals caused by climate is one factor. Warming at higher latitudes allowed vectors and pathogens to survive winter is another factor. The report goes on to say, "The human pathogenic diseases and transmission pathways aggravated by climatic hazards are too numerous for comprehensive societal adaptations, highlighting the urgent need to work at the source of the problem: reducing GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions."

This research reveals more evidence that humans will have difficulty adapting to climate change, especially those in developing countries, Mora said. "The magnitude of the vulnerability when you think about one or two diseases -- okay, sure, we can deal with that," he said. "But when you're talking about 58% of the diseases, and 58% of those diseases can be affected or triggered in 1,000 different ways. So that, to me, was also revealing of the fact that we're not going to be able to adapt to climate change."

In 2023, we wrote about having crossed tipping points in the paper, "Climate Change: How Long Is 'Ever'?". When we wrote the Tunnel Under Thesis in 1995, we forecast crossing these tipping points would not happen for centuries. We underestimated Man's ignorance and arrogance. Fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions have continued to set record highs. Humans have caused chain-reactions resulting in toppled tipping points, feedback loops, and The Domino Effect.

Events we thought would not happen in our lifetimes are happening now. My last resort emergency plan was to escape to Canada. (I am a dual citizen.) This summer that plan literally went up in smoke. "Beginning in March 2023, and with increased intensity starting in June, Canada has been affected by an ongoing, record-setting series of wildfires." -- Wikipedia

All of my life I have located my office and bedrooms in the uppermost southern exposure (preferably in the tree canopy.) I love sunlight, elevation, trees, fresh air, and wildlife. It is becoming ever more obvious my dreamlife is coming to an end, and I will be forced to tunnel under. For those forward thinkers, think about your poop. Pumping sewage above ground level will be a major problem at all times. In addition, the inability to pump flood water will become deadly during extreme weather events. In July of 2020 NPR reported, "The remnants of Hurricane Ida dropped unprecedented rainfall on several eastern states, killing dozens of people. Eleven of them were Queens residents who died when their basement apartments flooded." In August of 2022 CNN reported, "Seoul has vowed to move some of the city's poorest families out of underground and semi-subterranean homes after 13 people were killed in flooding caused by record rainfall this week, sparking public horror and calls for government accountability." Drowning in your own poop may result for those unprepared.

There will be enough ice melt to raise sea levels 220 feet. We estimate 270 feet to be "the minimum safe" elevation to live. High-tides, waves, coastal flooding, storm surge, grade of shoreline, etc. would make the lowest elevations for living space to be at least 270 feet above pre-industrial sea levels. This would be the minimum elevation. Personally, I would not want to live that low. As the water submerges sewage treatment plants, landfills, chickens, cows, and all sorts of other bio-hazards, the waters will become toxic. In addition, much of the land will experience salinization making it unfit for plant life. Another concern for elevations under 800 feet is living on an island. Many locations at lower elevations will become isolated. Living on an island has many problems including fresh water, food, shelter, and healthcare. Security from pirates pilfering, raping, and plundering will likely be the overriding concern. Of course, I don't expect that to happen for millennia, but I hope government planners do plan for it now. If you look at Florida as an example, parts of the coastline have seen sea levels rise over 14-20 feet in the last decade. Although the storm surge was only for hours, you wouldn't want to live there during those hours. Not to mention, the frequency of these extreme weather events will rise exponentially. Thus, our recommendation to evacuate Florida now (i.e. Managed Retreat). The billions of dollars spent to rebuild after Hurricane Ida will all be for naught. Allowing building there will needlessly endanger property and lives. Parts of the world have already seen storm surges of 40 feet. I expect most North American coastlines will see sea levels rise, if only temporarily, by 20-40 feet this century. As far as long run sea level rise, much will depend on location, gravity, isostatic adjustment, and thermal expansion. If the ocean temperatures get warm enough (thermal expansion), parts of the world may see sea levels rise to 270 feet for long periods of times. Other parts of the world, like Greenland, may actually see sea levels decline. In any event, the Earth crossed tipping points this decade which make extreme sea level rise inevitable and irreversible in our lifetimes. Planners should plan on it.

Sidd reiterated, "That 270 feet will take a long time. I would be more careful about the violent rain than the ice melt." Expect to see increasing intensity and/or frequency in a wide variety of violent rain events including: downpours, flooding, hurricanes, cyclones, monsoons, coastal flooding, storm surges, lightning and wildfires, hail, extreme wind, and concurrent extremes. The reign of violent rain has already begun. More hillsides and shorelines are collapsing. Atmospheric rivers are dramatically increasing flash flooding in the Northeastern USA. Worldwide, stormwater systems are becoming overwhelmed. Ironically, the streets of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, UAE, flooded days before the COP28 Climate Conference. Nowhere is safe from violent rain, not even in the desert preparing for a UN meeting on the climate crisis. As a result of increasing violent rain, new drainage culverts are forming. Eventually, the culverts will transform into recurring streams, carving new canyons, creating new landscapes and islands. In addition, extreme weather events are increasing the frequency of lightning storms and wildfires. After wildfires, rain deluges cause massive landslides transforming the topography. At the same time as the violent rain makes its way to the sea, the sea is rising to meet the violent rain.

In the article "Violent Rain and the Substrate," Greg Laden, coastal archaeologist, said, "With a little erosion, the Hudson, Lake Champlain, and the St. Lawrence could become contiguous, so New England becomes an Island."

For any remaining humans, fresh air, water, food, and sunlight will all be problematic; however, your most severe concern will likely be security. Those with supplies will be at high risk of being raped and looted. Good luck!

* Our climate model employs chaos theory to comprehensively consider human impacts and projects a potential global average temperature increase of 9℃ above pre-industrial levels.