Meet authors of a new paper warning against widspread efforts to apply the phrase tipping points when describing physical climate hazards and societal responses (without some more research).
Bravo Andy! “The climate is nearing tipping points.” Hansen is correct because the word "points" is plural and vague. In an ecosystem, there are many thresholds to cross. Hansen says the balance has been upset, and the climate is nearing tipping points. The problem is too much attention on the tipping points, how bad can it be, and insufficient work at restoring the balance. Scientists fall for this Washington trap all the time. The pol requests more information and the scientists oblige instead of urging the pol to act. Go study the birthrate of polar bears that sit on icebergs feels like a business at our expense.
Bravo Andy! “The climate is nearing tipping points.” Hansen is correct because the word "points" is plural and vague. In an ecosystem, there are many thresholds to cross. Hansen says the balance has been upset, and the climate is nearing tipping points. The problem is too much attention on the tipping points, how bad can it be, and insufficient work at restoring the balance. Scientists fall for this Washington trap all the time. The pol requests more information and the scientists oblige instead of urging the pol to act. Go study the birthrate of polar bears that sit on icebergs feels like a business at our expense.