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Connect content-area literacy and science with differentiated readers featuring lab activities and profiles of related scientitists

Severe storms. --- Storms. --- Weather. --- Severe storms --- Storms --- Weather --- Earth & Environmental Sciences --- Meteorology & Climatology --- Meteorology --- Natural disasters --- Severe weather --- Storm chasers --- Study and teaching (Elementary)

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There is a low but uncertain probability that climate change could trigger "mega-catastrophes," severe and at least partly irreversible adverse effects across broad regions. This paper first discusses the state of current knowledge and the defining characteristics of potential climate change mega-catastrophes. While some of these characteristics present difficulties for using standard rational choice methods to evaluate response options, there is still a need to balance the benefits and costs of different possible responses with appropriate attention to the uncertainties. To that end, the authors present a qualitative analysis of three options for mitigating the risk of climate mega-catastrophes - drastic abatement of greenhouse gas emissions, development and implementation of geoengineering, and large-scale ex ante adaptation - against the criteria of efficacy, cost, robustness, and flexibility. They discuss the composition of a sound portfolio of initial investments in reducing the risk of climate change mega-catastrophes.

Atmosphere --- Climate --- Climate Change --- Climate Change Economics --- Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases --- Climate system --- Desertification --- Ecosystem --- Environment --- Floods --- Forest --- GHG --- GHGs --- Global greenhouse gas --- Greenhouse --- Greenhouse gas --- Greenhouse gas emissions --- Hurricanes --- Ice sheets --- IPCC --- Macroeconomics and Economic Growth --- Precipitation --- Science and Technology Development --- Science of Climate Change --- Severe weather --- Temperature --- Transport --- Urban Development