Did Earth Pass a Clime Tipping Point?

Scientists say it did, and not once but many times, as global warming determined vast and rapid changes in clime conditions during greenhouse gas emissions resulted form the burning of fossil fuel. However, at the same time, they argue that it is not too late to reverse the process before it causes massive damage to Earth's clime, determining a runaway greenhouse effect or even a deep freeze.

Most of the global greenhouse gas emissions released by man into Earth's atmosphere are due to the burning of fossil fuels, which is believed to be responsible for the global warming effect of the planet. According to James Hansen, from NASA's Goddard Institute of Space Studies, the quantity of carbon dioxide currently present in Earth's atmosphere is enough to cause the melt of the whole Arctic ice sheet and that of Greenland. Furthermore, the high quantities of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are causing the ocean to experience an increase in its acidity that will greatly affect the marine life.

The effects of global warming are clearly visible, as the ice sheets at the poles present an accelerated melting process, and most of the cities located in coastal areas would soon suffer floods as the ocean level rises. People are able to reverse the effect by stopping the use of fossil fuel, thus the carbon dioxide emissions, and at the same time designing a method to remove the extra quantity of greenhouse gases from Earth's atmosphere. Hansen estimates that the tipping point for some parts of the globe could be somewhere in the area of 300 to 350 parts per million, in the atmosphere, while the measurements reveal that in most parts of the globe the carbon dioxide levels often exceed 380 parts per million.

Currently, the natural carbon dioxide sinks, respectively the land and ocean, are responsible for retaining about half the quantity of carbon dioxide emitted every year by man, although there are signs that this contribution is quickly decelerating as the clime becomes ever more arid and the oceans get saturated with the enormous quantities of carbon dioxide it draws out of the atmosphere.

If only people would stop further carbon dioxide emission, then maybe the greenhouse gas would all be absorbed by the natural carbon dioxide sinks and the levels would drop to normal.