PPS#64 What if palm trees were to grow in Alaska?
- Rebecca D'Souza
- Nov 30, 2020
- 1 min read
Updated: Dec 12, 2020
November 26th, 2020
Dear Patient Reader,
What if palm trees were to grow in Alaska?
They did about 52 million years ago. During the Eocene epoch, Alaska and the Arctic had a subtropical climate. Alaska and the polar regions were once hot enough to support flora as well as crocodiles swimming in the ice-free Arctic.
Eocene was a geological time period that derives its name from the Ancient Greek referring to the “dawn” of modern fauna that appeared during this time. The Eocene was a time of rising climatic temperatures, and the coming of mammals such as the first horses, bats, and whales.
By 2300, global temperatures will increase by 8 degrees Celsius on average if all of the Earth’s fossil fuel resources are burned. This would be adding five trillion metric tons of carbon to the atmosphere. In the Arctic, average temperatures would rise by 17 degrees Celsius.
Would those living in 2300 see palm trees growing in Alaska?
No, they most probably would not. If these temperatures were to become a reality, many parts of the Earth would be uninhabitable for humans, and many animals and plants would be pushed to extinction. Myles Allen, from the University of Oxford, the United Kingdom, puts it well saying, “Earth would be as unrecognisable to us as a fully glaciated world.”
Image
“Palm trees” made from bowhead whale bone and driftwood. Utqiagvik, Alaska
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