by Jennifer Coote
Introduction
G. Walker, Nature, 15 June, 06, pp. 802-805, examines the case for tipping points in the Earth’s climate. Such a situation occurs when the internal dynamics propel a change previously driven by external factors. An accelerating plethora of research papers indicates that previous estimates are changing very rapidly. Earth may have three particular tipping spots where change is happening very rapidly and possibly irretrievably, in the polar regions and Greenland. (continue…)