Scientists Identify “Tipping Points” of Climate Change

The globe’s weather is not a constant. Oceans store heat, forests absorb carbon dioxide and ice fields reflect light. Seemingly small changes in temperature, light or forest cover, increasingly caused by human activity, can contribute to permanent changes in global weather patterns. An international investigation reveals nine areas enduring visible and rapid changes that could irrevocably adjust Earth’s climate – melting the Arctic ice, slowing the monsoon winds and the Gulf Stream, eliminating the rain forests. “The effects of the changes could be equally varied, from a dramatic rise in sea levels that flood coastal regions to widespread crop failures and famine,” writes Steve Connor, science editor for the Independent. People face a choice: changing their habits and energy use, striving to minimize the effects of climate change, or taking no action and expecting future generations to adapt to a different world. – YaleGlobal