Addressing Tipping Points for a Precarious FutureTimothy O'Riordan, Timothy Lenton Tipping points are zones or thresholds of profound changes in natural or social conditions with very considerable and largely unforecastable consequences. Tipping points may be dangerous for societies and economies, especially if the prevailing governing arrangements are not designed either to anticipate them or adapt to their arrival. Tipping points can also be transformational of cultures and behaviours so that societies can learn to adapt and to alter their outlooks and mores in favour of accommodating to more sustainable ways of living. This volume examines scientific, economic and social analyses of tipping points, and the spiritual and creative approaches to identifying and anticipating them. The authors focus on climate change, ice melt, tropical forest drying and alterations in oceanic and atmospheric circulations. They also look closely at various aspects of human use of the planet, especially food production, and at the loss of biodiversity, where alterations to natural cycles may be creating convulsive couplings of tipping points. They survey the various institutional aspects of politics, economics, culture and religion to see why such dangers persist. |
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Academy of Sciences action adaptive governance agriculture Amazon Amazon rainforest Amazonian approach areas behaviour biodiversity biodiversity change Brazilian capital carbon challenges Chapter climate change complex contemplative consciousness context create creative crisis cultural deforestation dieback drought dynamics early warning Earth system ecological economic ecosystem services effects emerging Emily Boyd emissions Environment example feedbacks Foden food security food systems forest future Giles Foden Global Environmental Change global warming human impacts increase institutions interactions investment Laurence Freeman leadership Lenton London loss markets means metaphor models Mumbai narratives National Academy natural networks outcomes perspective planet policymakers political possible potential problems production rainforest regional resilience response risk Sara Parkin scale scenarios Sciences USA scientific shift social social capital social-ecological society species Sustainable Development thinking thresholds tipping points transformation transition understanding values visual visual thinking vulnerable well-being West African Monsoon