Are we racing towards Earth’s ‘Hothouse’ tipping point?
Recently, myself and academic colleagues published an analysis exploring the risk of biophysical systems that regulate the state of the planet, crossing critical tipping points. This is important because it could push the planet away from the stable state it has been in since the last Ice Age some 12,000 years ago.
This research effort was a daunting and complex task. Since the advent of the Anthropocene and the great acceleration of human environmental pressures on Earth, the scientific community is now forced, for the first time, to seek answers to the following existential question - are we as humanity now in a position to destabilize the entire Earth system? The research we just published is an attempt to address this question, by summarizing our current knowledge, setting the stage for further science, and presenting additional scientific support for urgent climate action.
And, despite complexity and uncertainty, we already know quite a lot. We know that Earth, for the last 1.2 million years, has naturally fluctuated 6-8 times, between Ice Ages lasting 100,000 years and warmer inter-glacial periods, similar to the one we have today. These are the only two natural stable states of our planet in this time.
We also know that we humans have increased the temperature on Earth by a global average of 1 degree Celsius (1.8°F), due to burning of fossil fuels, polluting air, and degrading forests and ecosystems.
