Thermonuclear Takes: Hothouse Earth and Heatwaves

Sometimes, a news story that relates to some of the topics we talk about on this show catches my eye. That's when you know it's time for a Thermonuclear Take! (tl;dr, experimenting with new bonus episode format.)  This episode, we're going to talk about the recent heatwaves over Europe, Japan and North America, and the thorny issues of Climate Change attribution. We'll also discuss that Steffen et al. paper about a Hothouse Earth: Trajectories of the Earth System in the Anthropocene. Will climate feedbacks doom us to 4-5C of warming if we fail to meet the Paris Agreement? Can anyone state that definitively? A perspective.  Naturally the aim of these bonus episodes is to be topical and provoke debate, so why not get in touch with us via Twitter @physicspod or via www.physicspodcast.com where you'll find all the archival episodes, alongside opportunities to donate to the show?  If you're more interested in historical than current events, our podcast series about Stalin is in the midst of covering the Second World War...  Trajectories of Earth System in the Anthropocene http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2018/07/31/1810141115