Britain's top scientist sees dangerous rise in global warming

While some scientists whine for their grants, the caravan continues on its way: "Sir David King said that, even by the most optimistic forecasts, carbon dioxide levels are set to rise to double what they were at the time of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century.

That will lead to a three-degree centigrade rise in temperature, King said, adding that if nothing is done to manage such change, few eco-systems on Earth will be able to adapt.

Even worse, said King in an interview on BBC radio, up to 400 million people around the world would find themselves at risk of hunger, because 20 million to 400 million tonnes of cereal production will be lost. "

There is no interesting model of the future where it doesn't work for us to build for a smaller footprint until such time as we know the tipping point of our planetary support systems.