By Alex Lauer In the last two decades, much of the discussion around climate change has been framed as a spectrum. That is, if we curtail greenhouse gas emissions, the future may look like X. If we don’t treat the problem seriously and keep emitting carbon, the future may look like Y. And there have always been asterisks in these predictions, with scientists noting it could be better or worse than anticipated. This ambiguity has allowed people to adopt a wait-and-see approach, despite climate scientists sounding the alarm. A new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, releas…