Melting of ice is slowing planet’s rotation and could disrupt internet traffic, financial transactions and GPS

The climate crisis is causing the length of each day to get longer, analysis shows, as the mass melting of polar ice reshapes the planet.

The phenomenon is a striking demonstration of how humanity’s actions are transforming the Earth, scientists said, rivalling natural processes that have existed for billions of years.

The change in the length of the day is on the scale of milliseconds but this is enough to potentially disrupt internet traffic, financial transactions and GPS navigation, all of which rely on precise timekeeping.

  • TheDemonBuer@lemmy.world
    131·
    4 months ago

    You’re right, humans are not a virus. We’re animals, and just like most other animals we will increase our population and our consumption as long as we have resources to consume. Usually when an organism exceeds the carrying capacity of their ecosystem, they experience a population crash that brings them back within the ecosystem’s sustainable boundaries. We are currently exceeding the carrying capacity of our ecosystem, so a significant decline in population and/or consumption levels seems inevitable.