Big Question: Is Earth past the tipping point?

For 10,000 years, our world seemed endless. The sky was the limit. But today's world looks much smaller. We've cleared, consumed and polluted our way across the globe. The planet is shrinking. Have we pushed Earth past the tipping point? That's a critical issue the University of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment explores in our second Big Question video. This three-minute multimedia feature draws on research from the article Planetary Boundaries: A Safe Operating Space for Humanity, published this past fall in the journal Nature, and discussed in the current Scientific American: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=boundaries-for-a-healthy-planet

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[DickesRehntier]

Thanks for producing this!

[happinesson]

this is a good campaign material for climate change. It is a MUST that kids watch this!

[888haider]

this is the truth if we dont wake now it will be very late

[checkyoursources]

nice video! Having one less child can reduce your impact by 20 times! See "One planet, One Child" or "Overconsumpulation" for more on this topic.

[Tressco]

We are destroying & poisoning the planet, partying it to dust.

But not with CO2.

Problems:

1) money addiction (single most effective dopamine trigger!!)

[Olds J, Milner P. (1954). "Positive reinforcement produced by electrical stimulation of septal area and other regions of rat brain". J Comp Physiol Psychol 47 (6): 41927.]

2) un(der)-diagnosed, tolerated and in Western Civilizations hugely honored antisocial personality disorder (ICD-10 / 3-6% male pop.), which destroys reciprocal altruism.

[Thatmakessense356]

@imycena What do you mean by "planetary disease?"

[MrDanbloom]

James Lovelock IS right, and we will need polar cities by the year 2500 for survivors of AGW and climate chaos 500 years down the road, 30 generations from now. The time to prepare for polar cities is....now. Discuss the topic, pre-plan them, site them and even pre-build them. Don't believe me this Jeremiah in the blogosphere? Google "polar cities" and see for yourself. Deng Cheng-hong is the artist who made the images which Lovelock has seen. He told me "Yes, it may very well happen and soon!"

[itspeaksanagram]

Bit arrogant to think we could save the Earth or prevent the extinction of certain species...my money is on James Lovelock being right...its goind =g to be tough and we are going to be culled to about a billion.... Wise man Lovelock. Thinks and always acts outside the box. Look him up, if not familiar with him... though provoking channel here.. thanks

[nathanwil]

these videos need to be shared around the internet more people need to see them

[NOCOMPLACENCYCOM]

excellent, accurate statement here.

The crazy thing, is that this is all true, we are experiencing global dimming. Global dimming has been a trend for the last 5 decades, and, yet, the temperature rises...we need to implement alternatives quicker, like, right now!