Scientists say we are nearing a tipping point with climate change.
The Independent reports that scientists now say the global climate is likely to become less predictable. They warn that high levels of greenhouse gases will cause a fundamental shift in the global climate system and they say this point will be reached some time before 2200 if the current rates of CO2 emissions continue.
According to Scientific American we have already reached the tipping point when it comes to species loss and nitrogen pollution and other scientists are saying we are nearing a tipping point for the Arctic region.
But all this makes me wonder whether we have reached another tipping point with some opinion polls showing people are growing skeptical that humanity is causing global warming. It's a trend encouraged by fierce public relations efforts from the fossil fuel industry.
So the question is whether we have reached the tipping point of having any intelligent discussion about this issue now destroying the planet.
The real problem here lies in the psychology of climate change. To say that the tipping point will come some time around 2200 is, for many, a long way down the track. It's won't happen in our lifetime. Most people don't think that far ahead which is a problem if we are to tackle climate change. It's a subject I explore in my column here.
With a tipping point beyond their lifetimes, many people would not regard it as that big a problem. And therein lies the problem of addressing the issue.
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