Because things should never, ever change on Earth, which has been utterly static for billions of years, you know
Crikey! Crocs heading south and other changes forecast for Australia’s wildlife
The chances of limiting climate change appear to be growing slimmer by the day — and this may have big implications for Australia’s wildlife.
Recently a number of crocodiles have been trapped in the Mary River, just 105 kilometres north of Noosa and 250km south of their usual range.
Irukandji jellyfish too, appear to be expanding south, with 10 suspected stings near Fraser Island and a child stung at Mooloolaba last year.
Numerous tropical fish have been recorded up to 1,000 kilometres south of their traditional range, such as the Great Barrier Reef’s lemon-peel angelfish which turned up on Lord Howe Island in 2009, and habitat-modifying sea urchins have landed in Tasmania.
How dare these animals move!!!! And this is all your fault for refusing to ride a bicycle to work and pay more taxes. Because the earth has never ever warmed before!
But there is uncertainty about whether the recent instances of crocodiles in southern waters is climate related or due to increasing numbers.
Crocodile populations have dramatically recovered from the brink of extinction since the 1970s, and the need for new territory may push some individuals to move outside their natural range.
A Queensland Department of Environment and Science (DES) spokesperson said they currently “don’t have evidence” to suggest crocodiles are expanding south.
But it’s totally going to happen, people! They know this! Because they have great crystal balls computer models!
Although some believe our Earth is only 6 to 10 thousand years old, you are correct that it’s actually billions (about 4x10e9) years old. That said, humans have not been here for billions of years at all. Humans as a species evolved over the past 2 million years during the Pleistocene epoch, a time characterized by the continents being essentially where they are now, and a climate of repeated glaciations where glaciers covered up to 30% of the surface, thought largely to result from Milankovich cycles, changes in the periodicity of the Earth’s orbit. These changes between glacial and interglacial periods caused migrations of fauna toward the equator as well as extinctions (including our Neanderthal cousins!).
But the beginnings of human civilizations occurred only after the last Pleistocene glacial period (the most recent ice age), during the relatively calm Holocene, not some 12,000 years old.
The current period of rapid warming is likely the warmest the Earth has been in the entire Holocene. And while unlikely to cause an extinction of humanity, global warming will significantly change modern human societies.
There is no scientific reason to expect the rapid warming to stop.