If you want to know the difference that that small temperature between the 2°C and 1.5°C can make, ask yourself why the scrotum is hanging outside the body. There is a reason the scrotum is not located in the body. The reason is the difference in temperature.
If indeed we want to save earth, we won’t allow for the 2°C increment!
The reason the scrotum is located outside the body is to give the testicles a good (cooler) temperature for sperm making. It might seem counter-intuitive to keep an important male reproductive organs exposed to the elements outside of the body, however scientists have multiple theories about why testicles are not kept safely tucked away inside the body. Temperature control is the most obvious answer. Sperm production is at its most effective at 35° Celsius, which is two degrees below the temperature maintained inside the human body. Organs that perform best at 37°C are shielded by bones inside the cavity of the body, including the brain and the kidneys.
However, there is some disagreement within the scientific community about the temperature thesis. It’s unclear whether the testes descended because they needed to be cooler than the rest of the body, or whether the organs evolved to perform at that temperature because they were external. Irrespective of the arguments/debate surrounding the location of the scrotum, the fact is, the testes need a conducive temperature to function properly.
This can be likened to the ongoing global phenomenon, global warming- Climate Change. The Earth needs a conducive temperature to function properly.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released last year, 2021, by the working group 1, scientists are observing changes in the Earth’s climate in every region and across the whole climate system. Many of the changes observed in the climate are unprecedented in thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of years, and some of the changes already set in motion such as continued sea level rise (which are irreversible over hundreds to thousands of years). Notwithstanding, strong and sustained reductions in emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases would limit climate change. Even though it is possible to see and benefit from quality air, it wouldn’t come so quickly, it could take about 20-30 years to see global temperatures stabilize, according to the IPCC Working Group I report, Climate Change 2021: the Physical Science Basis.
The report provides new estimates of the chances of crossing the global warming level of 1.5°C in the next decades. It also finds that unless there are rapid, immediate, and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming to close to 1.5°C or even 2°C will be beyond reach.
The IPCC report shows that emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities are responsible for approximately 1.1°C of warming since 1850-1900, and finds that averaged over the next 20 years, global temperature is expected to reach or exceed 1.5°C of warming. This assessment is based on improved observational datasets to assess historical warming, as well progress in scientific understanding of the response of the climate system to human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.
Many characteristics of climate change directly depend on the level of global warming, but what people experience is often very different to the global average. For example, warming over land is larger than the global average, and it is more than twice as high in the Arctic. Climate change is already affecting every region on Earth in multiple ways. The changes we experience will increase with additional warming if immediate solutions are not sought. The IPCC report projects that in the coming decades, climate changes will increase in all regions. For 1.5°C of global warming, there will be increasing heat waves, longer warm seasons and shorter cold seasons. At 2°C of global warming, heat extremes would more often reach critical tolerance thresholds for agriculture and health, the report shows.
Also, reports in the journal of Demography have found that high temperatures have significant negative effect on the birth rates and fertility. It is projected that as climate change drives temperature up and increases the severity of heat waves, getting pregnant may become harder than ever.
2°C increment is not a pleasant thing any of us would like to experience. Just like the scrotum would have been seriously affected if it were in the human body (with 37°C), this Earth would be in serious crisis if we allow for further increase of 2°C.
#Let’s protect the Earth
#Say no to global warming
