I am proud to unveil the Survivability Scale™ (below). The ‘X’ axis across the bottom denotes time, and the vertical axis denotes Temperature Plus Damage. At 5 Degree C of global heating, we can expect serious damage.
We are on the verge of breaking into Level 2 (we actually did cross the 2 degree Celsius threshold) for a single day in 2024. So, we’re on the fast track to Level 3, then Level 4, then, (ahem)…Level 5. As global heating continues to rise, the ammount of associated damage will grow exponentially. If it wasn’f for all the green designers and carbon neutality efforts, we would be at 2.5 Degree C and much higher on the curve. So, here is a big shout out to all you sustainability nerds.
Now, take a look at the IPCC chart below. The SSP5 – 8.5 line denotes the “worst case climate scenario (WCS).”
The Survivability Scale™ assumes that we are ‘on track’ to achieve the worst-case scenario or WCS. It is loosely based on the Richter Scale (Below).
[1] I am secretly hoping that the Survivability will be renamed as the Fleming Scale.