Seems Bad

I used to be more sanguine about the impacts of climate change than I should have been. I don’t mean that I didn't think it was very serious, just that I thought the time scale of its progress seemed to allow for slow adjustment. I'm sure this was partly because when you're 30, "30 years from now" seems like forever and, uh, it isn't!

But aside from the general speed of warming and effects we could think of as being more linear, the possibility of fast tipping points exists. Those are scary!

In an open letter published online Monday (Oct. 21), University of Pennsylvania climatologist Michael Mann and other eminent scientists say the risks of weakening ocean circulation in the Atlantic have been greatly underestimated and warrant urgent action.

The currents in question are those forming the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a giant ocean conveyor belt that includes the Gulf Stream and transports vital heat to the Northern Hemisphere. Research shows the AMOC is slowing down and could soon reach a tipping point due to global warming, throwing Earth's climate into chaos.

The Gulf Stream - which brings lovely warm water to the very northern continent of Europe - is part of AMOC.

Rome is at about the same latitude as Chicago.