Have We Reached the Tipping Point?

There may be “tipping points” on Earth. When these change,the entire climate begins to alter and this change may beirreversible.

Researchers think there are 12 “hotspots” which regulate theEarth’s environment. If one of these is subjected to stress,it could trigger large-scale, rapid changes in the entireplanet. But we don’t know how to tell when these limits arereached. In bbcnews.com, Alex Kirby quotes environmentalistJohn Schellnhuber as saying, “We have so far completelyunderestimated the importance of these locations. What we doknow is that going beyond critical thresholds in theseregions could have dramatic consequences for humans andother life forms.”

One example of a tipping point is the North Atlanticcurrent, the ocean circulation pattern that brings warmerair to northern Europe. If it collapses, as shown in themovie “The Day After Tomorrow,” there will be a hugeregional climate shift. Other tipping points are the WestAntarctic ice sheet, the Sahara desert, the forests of theAmazon basin and the Asian monsoon system.

Schellnhuber says, “We should have a much betterunderstanding of these tipping points, and we have to doeverything we can to stop short of triggering theseinstabilities. That means we have to know where they are,and they’ve been off the radar screen for far too long.Scientists have begun to realize that change could besudden, not gradual?in some cases it could happen within afew decades.”

Have you made some wrong decisions that have sent your lifepast the tipping point? There’s a whole new way to live?bytrustingyour vibes.

Photo credits: http://www.freeimages.co.uk/

NOTE: This news story, previously published on our old site, will have any links removed.