Question: how long do we have until the ice caps melteing cause great destruction?

Maria McNamara answered on 19 Nov 2019:

It depends on your perspective. Ecosystems in the Arctic and Antarctic are already seeing devastating changes due to melting ice. Breakup of the ice caps is putting huge pressure on animals such as polar bears, arctic foxes, and many polar-dwelling birds. Some island nations in e.g. Polynesia, which include many low-lying islands, are experiencing substantial flooding and face destruction of much habitable land. If sufficient cold water is pumped into the Atlantic it could dramatically change the strength and path of the Gulf Stream, potentially changing the climate of much of Western Europe to something like the Siberian tundra, by 2100. Hopefully governments will take action and start imposing major taxes on climate-damaging industries and practices, so we can slow down inputs of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere before then.