As global climate disasters abound and worsen, our world is already past the point of no return in two areas where key components of Earth’s climate have irreversibly broken down. Both the Greenland ice sheet and West Antarctic ice sheet are now beyond saving.
In 2022 scientists identified 16 major tipping points linked to increases in global warming, including the Arctic permafrost, tropical coral reefs, and one key ocean current in the Labrador Sea.
Irreversible breakdowns are not isolated events. Melting permafrost releases more carbon into the atmosphere which in turn increases land and ocean temperatures, further accelerating the melting of ice sheets, stressing coral reefs, and damaging other key climate components.
We cannot afford more irreversible breakdowns and the cascade of disasters that follow each one. As one of the greatest polluters in the world, we must individually and collectively drastically reduce US carbon emissions before other irreversible chain reactions begin. Every one-tenth of a degree counts in maintaining a livable Earth.
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Our survival depends on it.
Dr. Jacolyn Marshall
Oro Valley
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
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