Stephen Hawking: Earth could turn into a hothouse planet like Venus

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Earth could turn into a hothouse planet like Venus, with boiling oceans and acid rain, if humans don't curb irreversible climate change, physicist Stephen Hawking claimed in a recent interview.

"We are close to the tipping point, where global warming becomes irreversible. Trump's action could push the Earth over the brink, to become like Venus, with a temperature of 250 degrees [Celsius], and raining sulfuric acid," he told BBC News, referring to the president's decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate deal.

I'll admit I don't have much knowledge of what the Paris climate deal actually entails, or what the repercussions of pulling out of it are, but clearly this was an extreme exaggeration from Stephen Hawking and for him to put the blame on Trump tells me his statement might be politically motivated. If Earth is going to burst into flames, it won't be because of Trump pulling out of the Paris deal, nor will it be because of Trump's doing of any kind - unless he transforms into the devil himself and calls for Armageddon upon the Earth. First they took Niel DeGrasse Tyson, then Bill Nye the psuedo-science guy and now it appears Mr.Hawking has fell victim to the almighty _____? Who will I turn to now when I want to learn about science?

As far as climate change goes, I do believe it is real, but as to what extent is it caused by us humans is debatable. I believe the current "narrative" is definitely politically motivated and is very misleading. If we humans are in fact causing the climate to change, and climate change is a real concern, how come animal agriculture - the number one cause that dwarfs all other issues combined - is never discussed? Most people are not even aware of this and think humans are going to litter and pollute the Earth to death.

Now, that's not to say we shouldn't be taking care of the Earth, because we definitely should be, anywhere and everywhere that we can, but putting everything into perspective you have to wonder what the real "agenda" is..


And here's some info about the hothouse planet Mr.Hawking was referring to

Venus is the second planet from the sun and the brightest planet in the solar system; though the planet is named after the Roman goddess of love and desire, don't expect to take a trip to the balmy planet with your sweetheart anytime soon. Despite being the same size as Earth and having roughly the same gravity as our home planet, it's a far cry from our water-drenched planet. Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system, with temperatures reaching 870 degrees F (466 degrees C). The reason for these sweltering temperatures is Venus' thick carbon-dioxide atmosphere that is dotted with sulfuric acid clouds; the atmosphere traps much more heat than our own does. It is also much closer to the sun, meaning it absorbs much more solar radiation than Earth. Churning volcanoes add to Venus' reputation as an inferno. [7 of the Hottest Places on Earth]

The leading theory about how Venus came to be such a hellscape is that the planet got caught in a feedback loop, wherein the planet absorbed more solar radiation than it released, causing more water vapor to get trapped in its atmosphere. That, in turn, led to greater heat absorption, and runaway warming (also called a runaway greenhouse effect).

"Basically, Venus was in a state of heat stroke — the planet was in a warming state and it couldn't cool down," said Tyler Robinson, an astrobiologist at the University of Washington.

a reply to: knowledgehunter0986

The USA is the second largest polluter in the world , pulling out of the Paris agreement gives them the scope the be the No1 largest polluter in the world.
Making America great again.

Whether you believe in man made climate change or not polluting the air you breath can't be good.

Well..perhaps Stephen Hawking is correct.. BUT I refuse to believe we will see boiling oceans in the next 1000-2000 years
And by that time I truly believe we have the tech to remove pollution from the air.

That and we will have humans living on other planets.

AND we would have the ability to build our cities underground and fabricate food and drinks out of thin air.

originally posted by: knowledgehunter0986
.... how come animal agriculture - the number one cause that dwarfs all other issues combined - is never discussed?

Because you're talking about the food supply.

The two things you can't tackle in todays society are arguably the most important factors in our survival as a species... food supply and population control.

In the end it's all about profits.

A "scientist" that compares our climate to other planets is doing more damage than good and contributes to hysteria and paranoia.

a reply to: MarkOfTheV

Great point, and that's where I'm basically at too. His statement is only adding to the hysteria and blaming Trump is making it even worse.

a reply to: knowledgehunter0986

God more climate doom.

People who lived through Gores climate doom porn should be excused from having to even hear this crap.

Yes we should be more careful. No the world isnt ending. No you cant have my tax dollars to pretend like you are saving it.

Go into business, not science if you want money.

If not publish facts that might not get those monies but are still TRUE.

Freakin liars.

We'd be all in for equal agreements, and no money down. Why must America pay and China can do anything it wants?? Sorry were not fooled any more. We actually got that guy out of the White House!a reply to: gortex

a reply to: knowledgehunter0986

The military is concerned about climate change.

www.scientificamerican.com...

www.military.com...

So who do you believe?

The military and Hawkings plus other reputable scientist... or...the fossil fuel industry and their paid for scientist?

of course the right wing will side with the energy companies and when Florida is under water...whine ...."why didn't someone warn us"

How do we know that is actually what the Prof is saying. It would be very easy to get the electronic speaking device to say whatever the remote controller wanted it to. Hawking would find it very difficult to show any protest or disagree.

Let's get real, the same people who write fake news, writes for Stephen Hawking.

a reply to: knowledgehunter0986

Exactly how do you "curb" something that's irreversible? Just delay the inevitable?

a reply to: WUNK22

It isn't about paying money it's about making money , not for you but for big business.
Walking away from Paris will make energy companies and polluting businesses very happy , in a few days Net neutrality is scrapped potentially making big media companies very happy and when he can the President plans to deregulate your banking system making rich bankers very happy.

You / we will pay the price for their increased profits and further inflated salaries , walking away from Paris is a bad idea for you , your children and your children's children.

It's all about the 1%

a reply to: olaru12

Being concerned about the changing climate and it's effect on Earths inhabitants is one thing.

Celebrity scientists fanning the flame and comparing and likening our situation to infinitely different terrestrial bodies such as Venus is another.

I for one believe the climate is changing, as it has for millenia, long before humans. It will continue to change long after, and shake us off like a bad case of fleas.

The hardest evidence they have for it is a change of one or two degrees over a period of a couple of hundred years.

Now... call me crazy... but I'm not sure a couple of hundred years of climate information amounts to much in the 4.5 BILLION year time frame that the Earth has been around.

On one hand... Neil deGrasse Tyson thinks it's inexcusably arrogant to think we are the only beings in the universe... and on the other... he thinks that we somehow have an effect on this 4.5 billion year old planet.


Celebrity science SUCKS.

a reply to: olaru12

To be honest, I don't know what to believe.

I believe it and I don't..

There is no doubt the current narrative is politically motivated, which "pollutes" the truth. Imo, when Trump called this whole thing a hoax, pretty sure he was just talking about the current money grabbing narrative.

Who knows..

a reply to: knowledgehunter0986

He also thinks our only chance to survive human greed and agression are "independent space colonies".

"I fear evolution has inbuilt greed and aggression to the human genome. There is no sign of conflict lessening, and the development of militarised technology and weapons of mass destruction could make that disastrous. The best hope for the survival of the human race might be independent colonies in space."

From the original interview with BBC linked at your source. BBC

He didn't like BREXIT either, shocker......

And on Brexit, he feared UK research would be irreparably damaged.

"Science is a cooperative effort, so the impact will be wholly bad, and will leave British science isolated and inward looking".

I am losing no sleep over Hawkins worrying about CC and Trump.

I am actually surprised he didn't tie in Russian collusion.

ETA: The BBC article title isn't quite so dramatic.

Hawking says Trump's climate stance could damage Earth

Global warming can't not be true. The question is how much of it is anthropogenic and how much is to do with solar fluctuations. Even if only 10 per cent of it were proven to be anthropogenic, that would still be hugely significant.

Hawking might be in a minority, but the idea that we have to take action right now - and maintain that action into the future - is not new and nor is it his. E.g. -

Leaving aside other effects of global warming like rising seas, stronger storms, longer droughts and plummeting biodiversity, Kasting says, “the problem of heat stress alone could become lethal to humans well before any runaway happens, and that danger may be much closer than previously realized. This is serious enough to warrant our full attention.”

Hawking might be wrong, or his fears might be exaggerated. I don't think the blame could be pinned on Trump, although obviously pulling out of a climate deal isn't going to help at all. But it's a hell of a gamble we'd be taking if we did nothing.

As for the idea that Hawking's voice synthesizer has been hijacked, behave.

a reply to: stosh64

Makes you wonder, is there a bastion of absolute truth and integrity, free from corruption or influence, anywhere left on this earth?

Probably not..

originally posted by: knowledgehunter0986
a reply to: olaru12

To be honest, I don't know what to believe.

I believe it and I don't..

There is no doubt the current narrative is politically motivated, which "pollutes" the truth. Imo, when Trump called this whole thing a hoax, pretty sure he was just talking about the current money grabbing narrative.

Who knows..

It doesn't matter what you believe; In a corporate oligarchy that is only interested in the bottom line. You and I are nothing more than numbers on the tax roles and consumers. Work, eat, sleep, watch TV and STFU.

I remember when the air was so bad in LA that parents were warned by the county, to not let their kids play outdoors because of the pollution.

I wish people would take more effort to separate polluting ones environment from changing the entire climate. Trying to merge these two different subjects is just dishonest. Are these wonderful all knowing scientists starting to lose their ability to scare people?

I can completely understand that we should have controls against polluting our environment. We really need to tackle the agricultural chemical runoff polluting our waterways.

But tying in the fantasy that we can change our overall climate is just not working anymore. People are waking up and are now separating fact from fantasy. The people that stand to make enormous amounts of money off of this scam are starting to get desperate.

I just don't understand people's reluctance to admit that our climate has been changing for a long time, much much longer than the small amount of time since our industrial revolution began.

a reply to: olaru12

Exactly, putting what you said into perspective, do they really care about the Earth then?

Or is it all about the mula?