Have We Crossed the Climate Tipping Point?

Headlines are screaming that the world is about to reach a climate tipping point, which feels like a point of no return where the climate is screwed and there's nothing we can do. But it turns out, that's wrong. These visions of a climate apocalypse don't align with the science. So what exactly is going on with our climate? What even is a tipping point? And are we really about to lose control of the climate? Comedian Michael Hing joins us for a journey with climate scientists Dr. Ed Dodderidge, Dr. Seaver Wang, and Dr. Sarah Das, as well as Dr. Felicity McCormack, who's at the Australian Research Council Special Research Initiative Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future at Monash University.

Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsClimateTippingPoint 

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Fire in the hole

(06:14) What is a tipping point? 

(11:04) Is Planet Earth "tipping"? 

(17:00) How do we know when the ice sheets tip?

(25:04) When will the ice sheets tip?

(27:34) Have we lost control of the climate? 

(31:58) Why tipping points are the distracted boyfriend meme

(35:30) The good news!

Send us your questions about How to Solve the Climate Crisis!! 

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This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman, with help from Meryl Horn Rose Rimler, Ekedi Fausther-Keeys, and Michelle Dang. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Diane Kelly. Mix and sound design by Sam Bair. Music written by Bobby Lord, Sparse Movement, Bumi Hidaka and So Wylie. Thanks to the researchers we spoke to, including Professor Andrew Dessler, Professor Christina Hulbe, Dr David Armstrong McKay, Professor Tim Lenton, Aditya Lolla, Dr Elizabeth Maroon, Dr Jan Nitzbon, Professor Johannes Quaas, Dr Jonathan Leung, Dr Kirsten Schell, Dr Madi Rosevear, Michelle Dvorak, Dr Robin Lamboll, Dr Zeke Hausfather, Dr Sam Krevor, Flowra Zhang and others. And extra thanks to the Zukerman Family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.

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