Past the Tipping Point

Refusing to consider any action but those that are possible within American-centric BAU is signalling to the world that the US is not yet serious about the climate change danger and about taking the mitigation steps necessary and American lack of leadership now is crafting a Copenhagen treaty that will be even less effective than the end result of Waxman-Markey.

Prism Webcast News

JAMES LOVELOCK: Observational evidence shows sea level rise has been much higher and the melting of the Arctic is happening far more quickly than IPCC predictions. Climate change is happening much faster than most realise.

TA: Has the Earth already passed a climate tipping point?

JL: Yes, I think it has. The Earth is already moving towards a hotter state in response to the changes we’ve made in transforming much of the surface of the planet and adding CO2 into the atmosphere.

Tierramérica

The key phrase, really, was “tipping point.” As in “I’d say we are reaching a tipping point or are past it for the ice. This is a strong indication that there is an amplifying mechanism here.” That’s Pål Prestrud of the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research-Oslo. Or this, from Mark Serreze, of the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado: “When the ice thins to a vulnerable state, the bottom will drop out...I think there is some evidence that we may have reached that tipping point, and the impacts will not be confined to the Arctic region.”

Bill McKibben, Chronogram

Today, Anna Maria Tremonti interviewed Dr. James Lovelock about the coming effects of warming. You can hear the interview here. It may take a bit of time to load, depending on your connection.

Today, one in four mammals is on the verge of extinction. Of the 44,838 species catalogued by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 38 percent are on their way out. Currently, one species goes extinct every three hours.

By Stephen Leahy, IPS