00:00:04
- Looks like today we got
00:00:06
to 101 degrees in the water on
the north side of Key Largo.
00:00:12
- You talking about
straight ahead? Right here?
00:00:13
That little, I think that
is, I think that's it
00:00:18
because we're getting closer to it.
00:00:21
Water still. The sun is just radiating.
00:00:22
It's just absorbing all that heat.
00:00:25
- What we're worried
about is the evisceration
00:00:27
of what's left of the coral population.
00:00:31
- All right, I'm ready
to jump in this water.
00:00:36
- Woo. That's hot.
00:00:40
I am Maya Ma, and I'm fascinated
by our dynamic planet,
00:00:43
our weather, and our climate.
00:00:46
What began as a career in
broadcast meteorology has become a
00:00:50
mission to figure out
where we are, oh my God,
00:00:54
and where we're going
as we leave this long,
00:00:56
stable climate period.
00:00:58
And enter the hockey stick era
00:01:01
- This morning.
00:01:02
Scientists say the 101.1 degree
temperature recorded at a
00:01:06
buoy near Key Largo, Florida.
00:01:08
This week may break a record
00:01:10
for the highest observed
sea surface temperature.
00:01:14
- This super heated water
moves out into the ocean,
00:01:17
contributing to the heating
00:01:19
of the Gulf Stream and the coral reefs.
00:01:22
- You know, if that happens in
any one place, it's very easy
00:01:25
to say, oh, that's an anomaly
that just happened there.
00:01:28
But what's unique about this
summer in my experience,
00:01:31
which is now 30 years
I've been working on this,
00:01:34
have not seen a particular summer
00:01:37
that is this glaringly hot everywhere.
00:01:41
- Warming in the ocean
tends to find its way out
00:01:44
through stronger hurricanes,
changes in ocean patterns,
00:01:49
coral bleaching, loss
00:01:51
of sea ice in the Arctic
region, it's all connected.
00:01:55
- For much of the last 10,000 years,
00:01:56
our planet's climate has been
remarkably stable in three
00:02:00
important ways, temperature,
00:02:02
atmospheric carbon dioxide, and sea level.
00:02:05
During this time, the human
population went from 20 million
00:02:08
people on earth to 8 billion.
00:02:12
That stable climate period
is what allow the development
00:02:15
of human civilization as we know it,
00:02:18
but that stability is gone
and the impacts aren't linear.
00:02:23
That's because of tipping points.
00:02:25
And these are critical
thresholds for our planet
00:02:28
that once crossed can speed up
00:02:30
and intensify the impacts
of climate change,
00:02:33
and they may not be reversible.
00:02:35
How well we understand these changes
00:02:37
and how we choose to act
will define our future
00:02:41
for generations to come.
00:02:44
So join me in the field
00:02:45
and in the lab to see
00:02:47
what the brightest minds
in the best science have
00:02:49
to say about our changing weather
00:02:51
and climate and how to prepare.
00:02:54
And I wanna share why I'm more
hopeful now than ever about
00:02:57
confronting this global crisis
00:02:58
because exponential change, the kind
00:03:01
that suddenly sneaks up
on us isn't always bad.
00:03:12
I have some very big news.
00:03:15
The Weather team and I made a TV show.
00:03:17
We're so excited to announce
00:03:19
that Weathered Earth six
streams just launched on the PBS
00:03:23
app and on PBS stations
around the country.
00:03:26
We traveled around the world
00:03:28
to tell the definitive story
about our changing weather
00:03:31
and climate and how a better
future is within reach.
00:03:34
This is the first of six episodes,
00:03:36
and you can watch the rest
of the series right now
00:03:39
to support us and help us do more seasons.
00:03:42
You can watch the series
on your smart TV on the
00:03:45
PBS app for free.
00:03:46
You can also watch it on
pbs.org at the link below.
00:03:50
Think of the PBS app as
the Peoples Streamer.
00:03:54
It's one of the best places
00:03:55
for documentaries from
Nova Frontline and More.
00:03:58
It also has every show from
our PBS Digital studios friends
00:04:02
like Eons Be Smart Crash Course.
00:04:05
And Strom, we put so
much into this new series
00:04:08
and we can't wait for you to watch it.
00:04:10
This is a huge deal for the Weather team,
00:04:12
and it's one of the biggest
projects PBS Digital Studios has
00:04:15
ever released.
00:04:17
And we have you the viewers to thank.
00:04:19
We couldn't have done it
without you. Thank you.
00:04:22
Okay, back to the first episode.
00:04:26
- So Tim, you pioneered the study
00:04:29
of climate tipping points
almost 20 years ago.
00:04:31
So can you tell me what
exactly is a tipping point?
00:04:35
- So a tipping point is a
threshold in the climate,
00:04:38
which if we cross it, we
see major accelerating
00:04:42
and potentially irreversible change.
00:04:44
It really looks like a different
world if we cross these
00:04:47
climate tipping points.
00:04:48
And the decisions we make in
the next few years are gonna
00:04:51
define our climate future.
00:04:52
We're talking about the major
ice sheets on Antarctica
00:04:56
and Greenland that together
could give us 10 meters
00:04:58
of sea level rise.
00:04:59
We're talking about major ocean currents
00:05:02
that set the pattern of
climate for all of us.
00:05:04
And then the frozen permafrost
of the high Arctic, which
00:05:08
as it thaws, it can release
twice as much carbon
00:05:11
as is currently in the atmosphere.
00:05:13
And then there's bits
of the living biosphere
00:05:15
that Amazon rainforests
00:05:16
and the coral reefs that half
a billion people depend on
00:05:19
for their livelihoods.
00:05:21
- Coral reefs are one
of the most productive
00:05:24
and biodiverse ecosystems on the planet.
00:05:27
Nearly a quarter of all marine
species rely on them, as well
00:05:31
as hundreds of millions of
people that count on them
00:05:34
for food income
00:05:35
and protection from extreme
storms like hurricanes.
00:05:39
But an ocean that's too hot
00:05:41
by even just a couple degrees
could change everything.
00:05:46
So I went to Florida to
find out how close we are
00:05:49
to crossing this threshold.
00:05:50
During a record breaking ocean heat wave,
00:05:54
I arrived while conservationists
00:05:56
and scientists were carrying
out the largest coral rescue
00:05:59
attempt in history.
00:06:08
- All the teams in Florida kind
of jumped into action to try
00:06:11
to save as many corals
as we can from the ocean.
00:06:14
We did that by actually
removing individuals
00:06:17
of all these different genotypes,
00:06:18
every single genetic
individual that we had,
00:06:21
and bringing them here.
00:06:23
- It's a desperate attempt
to save as much biodiversity
00:06:26
as possible, allowing corals
00:06:28
to weight out the heat
wave in onshore nurseries
00:06:31
naturally growing.
00:06:32
Coral can't be moved without damage.
00:06:34
But young coral grown in labs
00:06:36
and recently planted on ocean reefs can.
00:06:39
So dozens of scientists
00:06:41
and researchers carefully
removed the young corals
00:06:44
as water temperatures
reached deadly levels.
00:06:47
Each coral represents years
00:06:49
of work towards creating a more resilient
00:06:51
- Reef.
00:06:52
Most corals are animals,
00:06:53
but in their tissues, they
have this symbiotic algae.
00:06:57
They use energy from
the sun to create foods
00:06:59
through photosynthesis.
00:07:00
When the temperatures get too
warm, let's say a little bit
00:07:03
above 87, 88 into the nineties,
00:07:05
the algae actually stop
being able to produce food
00:07:08
for the corals, and instead
they produce toxic chemicals.
00:07:11
- When this happens, the coral
expel the colorful algae in
00:07:14
an attempt to save themselves.
00:07:16
- That's the process of bleaching.
00:07:18
Before this year, things
were already pretty bleak.
00:07:21
Unfortunately, it's
estimated that about half
00:07:23
of the world's corals
had been lost already due
00:07:25
to bleaching and other things.
Like many other climate
00:07:27
- Impacts, damage from
bleaching is binary.
00:07:31
Increasing heat has little impact
00:07:33
until a threshold is crossed.
00:07:35
Then suddenly the
results are catastrophic.
00:07:40
If they remain bleached for
too long, they starve and die.
00:07:44
It takes about eight weeks.
00:07:46
Coral bleaching itself is nothing new.
00:07:49
But what is new is how often
these bleaching events occur,
00:07:52
making it difficult for
coral to recover in between
00:07:56
too much bleaching too close together,
00:07:58
and we lose the living corals
leading to the collapse
00:08:01
of the reef structure where
all of that biodiversity lives.
00:08:10
So scientists develop
ways to speed up recovery
00:08:13
and to improve resilience,
00:08:14
which I'm gonna see up close
at Moat Marine Laboratory.
00:08:18
And this process may hold
an important clue to whether
00:08:21
or not a coral tipping
point has been reached.
00:08:24
- Jason? Hi Maya. How are you doing? Very
00:08:28
- Good.
00:08:29
- Show me around. Oh, come
on. I'm, I'm so excited.
00:08:33
- This is Staghorn Coral.
00:08:35
Coral nurseries like this are places
00:08:37
where we can radically increase the number
00:08:39
of new coral colonies.
00:08:41
- So we start with a piece of coral
00:08:43
that we know is more
resilient than average
00:08:45
because it has already
survived a heat wave.
00:08:49
- What we're gonna do is we're
gonna take this coral here
00:08:51
and we're gonna fragment it
into those micro fragments
00:08:53
working with our bandsaw.
00:08:54
- I don't know how accurate I'm gonna
00:08:56
be. I'm gonna try my best.
00:08:57
- It it'll, it'll be perfect.
00:09:05
- Look at that. Just a
little dab. Just a little.
00:09:09
- Perfect. We're ready to glue 'em.
00:09:12
Get 'em off to their new home.
00:09:14
In the land-based nurseries,
00:09:16
when we do our micro fragmentation
process, we're trying
00:09:19
to achieve a dinner plate
size for those corals is,
00:09:23
that's about the rough size
that the coral has to be
00:09:25
to be sexually mature.
00:09:27
- Fragmenting the coral stimulates growth
00:09:29
shaving decades off the time
it takes to reach maturity.
00:09:33
By propagating the most
heat tolerant coral,
00:09:36
you speed up evolution
00:09:37
and the reef can survive in warmer water.
00:09:40
But here's the tipping point clue.
00:09:42
- Most of these strategies
00:09:43
that we've been developing
have shown a lot
00:09:46
of promise in trying to
buy corals, you know, one
00:09:49
to two degrees Celsius of heat tolerance.
00:09:52
What we're seeing this year
is very surprising and scary
00:09:55
because we're seeing a
three degrees Celsius kind
00:09:58
of temperature anomaly.
00:10:04
- Back in the 1960s and seventies and,
00:10:07
and even into the eighties,
there was roughly 30 to 60%
00:10:12
of the reef surface was
covered in living coral.
00:10:15
Today, before this,
this thermal event, two
00:10:19
to 5% of our reef is
covered in living coral
00:10:27
dead ahead.
00:10:28
That's the spa buoy. The big deal.
00:10:33
- I'm trying is this?
- Yeah,
00:10:35
that's bleach squirrel right there.
00:10:37
- Wow. I didn't even, I didn't,
00:10:38
I didn't even realize
that's what that was.
00:10:40
That is crazy. I wonder how
warm this water is down here.
00:10:45
What I was looking at down
here was bleached coral.
00:10:47
You can see it's completely white.
00:10:58
Bleaching was everywhere,
00:11:00
and this was the case for
every reef that we went to.
00:11:03
Fish were still using the features,
00:11:05
but if the reef building
coral have trouble recovering,
00:11:09
the structure will eventually fall apart.
00:11:18
- On the bottom, it was
fluctuating between 91
00:11:20
and 92 degrees Fahrenheit.
00:11:23
And then at the surface
there was definitely,
00:11:25
there were definitely a couple
of spots where we hit 93.
00:11:28
That is incredibly hot coral.
00:11:31
After coral, after coral that
are, that are bleached I,
00:11:34
I would estimate something
much greater than 90%
00:11:37
of the corals down there on
this relatively high coral
00:11:40
cover site.
00:11:42
Were showing some signs of
bleaching all the way through,
00:11:46
completely bleached, and then
00:11:49
a much lower proportion
are obviously already dead.
00:11:52
So all of that bleaching
is just over the last,
00:11:55
over the last couple of weeks.
00:11:58
- But there's still some
hope for these corals.
00:12:01
If the temperatures drop back down quickly
00:12:03
enough, they could survive.
00:12:05
So I'll come back to Florida later in the
00:12:07
summer to see how they did.
00:12:10
It makes sense that
sunny tropical Florida is
00:12:12
impacted by summer heat.
00:12:14
But what about one of the
coldest cities in the US we're
00:12:17
headed to Fairbanks, Alaska, where much
00:12:20
of the Arctic region is warming
00:12:21
around four times faster
than the global average,
00:12:25
pushing another sensitive
climate system towards a tipping
00:12:29
point permafrost.
00:12:35
This frozen ground is estimated
00:12:37
to contain more than 1500
billion tons of carbon globally.
00:12:43
This is equivalent to twice
the total amount of carbon
00:12:46
that's currently in
the Earth's atmosphere,
00:12:48
including all the human cause, CO2,
00:12:51
and methane emissions
00:12:52
that have already warmed
the planet near 1.5 degrees.
00:12:57
Global warming is gradually thawing,
00:12:59
this permafrost releasing
even more carbon into the
00:13:02
atmosphere leading to more
warming and more thaw.
00:13:06
And I think you can see the problem here.
00:13:09
Before the 2023 fire season,
no one I talked to believed
00:13:13
that a runaway feedback loop
had been triggered here.
00:13:20
But then 45 million acres
burned in Canada more than
00:13:24
doubling the previous annual record
00:13:27
fires even burned into the
Arctic circle, leaving vast areas
00:13:30
of permafrost, unprotected
and uninsulated by vegetation
00:13:35
and more susceptible to
the rising temperatures
00:13:38
in the spring of 2024, over 100.
00:13:41
So-called zombie fires reemerged
00:13:44
after being buried under the snow
00:13:45
and ice for the entire arctic winter.
00:13:48
I couldn't help but wonder
00:13:50
how this extreme fire
behavior might impact the
00:13:53
permafrost tipping point.
00:13:55
So to find out, we went to a study site
00:13:57
where scientists can
conveniently compare an unburned
00:14:00
landscape with one that
burned in 2019 side by side.
00:14:06
- So here we are. This is the boundary
00:14:10
of the Hess Creek fire.
00:14:11
And what makes it unique is
00:14:12
that it's happened over
old carbon called Tima.
00:14:18
- Tima is important because
it's the most carbon rich
00:14:21
kind of permafrost.
00:14:22
It's made of underground ice wedges
00:14:24
and organic matter that froze
during the last ice age,
00:14:27
before it had time to decompose.
00:14:30
When yetta thaws, the organic
matter begins to decompose,
00:14:34
releasing the stored
carbon into the atmosphere
00:14:37
by measuring the carbon
emissions from the soil.
00:14:39
Here scientists can understand the impact
00:14:42
that fire has on the permafrost below.
00:14:45
- This is gonna be our flux chamber
00:14:46
for measuring chamber CO2 and methane.
00:14:49
- If we detect either of
these in the burned area,
00:14:52
but not the unburned forest,
just across the highway,
00:14:55
we'll know that the fire was responsible
00:14:57
for initiating this permafrost thaw.
00:15:00
- There can't be any openings.
00:15:03
So when we first start
measuring, we take a baseline
00:15:06
of what's the general background,
CO2, in the atmosphere.
00:15:11
- By doing this, we're able
to see whether the ground
00:15:14
underneath us is absorbing
or releasing CO2.
00:15:19
- So what we can see is
a net increase in CO2
00:15:22
emissions from this site.
00:15:25
- But just across the highway
00:15:26
and the unburned forest,
00:15:28
Nick's measurements
reveal the opposite here.
00:15:31
Trees and vegetation protect
the permafrost below,
00:15:34
keeping it frozen.
00:15:36
As it grows, the forest
absorbs more carbon from the
00:15:39
atmosphere than it releases,
making it a carbon sink.
00:15:44
- Underneath us is ancient old
00:15:49
ice age deposits.
00:15:50
And still today they're frozen.
00:15:52
- And is that because of the trees
00:15:55
and all the shrubs that
we see around here?
00:15:58
- Exactly. But as soon as you
strip back that ecosystem,
00:16:02
you create disturbance, which creates
00:16:05
a positive feedback,
00:16:07
and that can lead to a tipping point.
00:16:12
- But the key to understanding
this tipping point lies in
00:16:14
the yet MA's deep ice wedges.
00:16:16
But this is kind of hard to
understand from the surface
00:16:19
because you can't see them.
00:16:20
So we're going underground.
00:16:24
So why do we need the flashlights?
00:16:25
- Well, it's pretty spooky inside.
00:16:31
All right, come on in.
00:16:39
- Yeah, that's a smell.
- Yes, it is.
00:16:43
- I don't even know how to describe it.
00:16:45
- Some people have said it's
the smell of climate change.
00:16:47
You're seeing a bison, a mammoth,
00:16:50
and a horse left over
from the last ice age.
00:16:53
- Wait, can I touch it? Yeah,
- Go ahead.
00:16:55
- This right here, this
is a wooly mammoth.
00:16:57
- Yes, that's a wooly mammoth
femur from the last ice age.
00:17:03
Oh my gosh. But if you,
if you come over here,
00:17:06
you can actually see that
the plants are still green.
00:17:10
The plants never had
a chance to decompose.
00:17:13
And so we can still see
00:17:16
- It's basically frozen in time.
00:17:18
- That's right. Wow.
00:17:20
And so the permafrost is
essentially any ground or rock
00:17:24
or soil or even plants
00:17:26
and microbes that are frozen
for two or more years.
00:17:28
But in this case, this
particular spot, this material,
00:17:32
has been frozen for at least 15,000 years.
00:17:40
- At that time, the earth was warming
00:17:41
as it emerged from the last ice age.
00:17:43
This thaw the very top layer
00:17:45
of permafrost turning it
into soil where plants
00:17:48
and even forests were able
to grow these ecosystems,
00:17:51
then insulated the remaining
tima permafrost below,
00:17:55
protecting it from further thaw.
00:17:57
But now things are changing.
00:18:00
- So here you can actually
see the ice wedge itself
00:18:06
and then look above you.
00:18:08
So the reason these ice
Wes are so important is
00:18:11
because, well, they're composed of water.
00:18:14
And when they're frozen, this
keeps everything together.
00:18:18
But as they thaw, they
conform wetlands such
00:18:21
as thermal car lakes,
00:18:22
which actually convert
this carbon into methane.
00:18:26
And methane is about
85 times more powerful
00:18:30
as a greenhouse gas than CO. Two
00:18:32
- More on methane in a moment.
00:18:33
But first, let's focus on the lakes.
00:18:35
Creating it water transfers
heat very efficiently.
00:18:39
So once these ice wedges begin to melt,
00:18:42
the thaws almost contagious
00:18:43
and spreads quickly, creating lots
00:18:45
of smaller local tipping points.
00:18:47
So we're going to a different
location near Fairbanks
00:18:50
where Nick believes an
irreversible tipping point has
00:18:53
already been crossed.
00:19:02
Just a few decades ago, the
Goldstream Valley was forested
00:19:06
with few lakes,
00:19:07
but as the yet ma thaws,
00:19:09
the landscape is changing dramatically.
00:19:18
- So a chunk of this is
just falling into the lake
00:19:21
and these trees are falling in.
00:19:23
But you have to realize,
50 years ago, this
00:19:26
was all a permafrost plateau
00:19:28
that's now transitioning into a lake.
00:19:31
And so what you'll find
is a lot of methane,
00:19:35
extreme methane emissions
here, but none here.
00:19:39
And this lake is,
00:19:41
we believe the largest methane emitting
00:19:43
lake in the literature.
00:19:47
- It's kind of wild to think that this was
00:19:51
just frozen ground.
00:19:53
Now because of climate change,
there's a whole lake here,
00:19:59
- And lakes like this are
important for two big reasons.
00:20:02
One is that they convey heat
to the surrounding permafrost,
00:20:06
leading to the spread of further thaw
00:20:08
and the creation of more lakes.
00:20:12
And two, when organic matter
breaks down under water,
00:20:15
which is what happened
here, it creates methane.
00:20:19
And methane is a far more
potent greenhouse gas.
00:20:24
- When you strip back
ecosystem protected tima,
00:20:28
this exposes it to
degradation and decomposition.
00:20:33
And it's like opening
the freezer door, right?
00:20:36
What happens if you open the freezer door
00:20:38
and you lose power to your food?
00:20:41
- Goes bad,
- Goes bad.
00:20:42
And why does it smell? It's rotting,
00:20:44
- It's decomposing,
- It's decomposing.
00:20:48
- So does this mean we have
triggered the permafrost tipping
00:20:51
point, releasing all that arctic
carbon into the atmosphere?
00:20:55
I asked Tim what he thought.
00:20:57
- When we look down from space, we see
00:20:59
that we're crossing quite a
few permafrost tipping points
00:21:03
locally, and they visible as
these craters or pop marks.
00:21:07
So the big concern is
00:21:08
that we see those
tipping points escalating
00:21:11
and it becoming a much
larger scale problem,
00:21:14
an amplifier of climate change.
00:21:16
There are these extraordinary fires
00:21:18
that we've seen in the
last couple of years
00:21:21
that are starting to hit
00:21:22
and hurt the slow major carbon
stores of the permafrost.
00:21:27
We've not seen the evidence
for a global methane bomb
00:21:31
that's amplifying warming,
00:21:32
but we are seeing these
localized tipping points
00:21:35
and we're starting to see them spread,
00:21:37
which is a obvious sign for concern.
00:21:48
- By the winter of 2023,
00:21:50
water temperatures in Florida had dropped.
00:21:52
So we met up with Liv to
get a sense of how much
00:21:55
of the coral survived
00:21:58
- Gas was on
- Awesome
00:22:04
in the water.
00:22:05
It was clear right away
00:22:07
that the heat event was just too long
00:22:09
and too intense for most
of the reef to survive.
00:22:12
The bleach coral we saw
earlier in the summer was no
00:22:15
longer stark white. It
00:22:18
- Was brown, gray and dead.
00:22:26
- Well, that was even
worse than I expected.
00:22:29
Not even one patch of light
tissue on any of those corals.
00:22:35
Wow. These are corals
00:22:39
that I've watched for
years grow and reproduce
00:22:44
and already be some of the last
of their kind in this area.
00:22:48
And to watch them slowly die
over the last few months is
00:22:52
just basically heartbreaking.
00:22:54
It's real. They're actually gone,
00:22:58
- Gone.
00:22:59
And the same was true for almost all
00:23:00
- Of the reefs in the Florida Keys.
00:23:03
I really fear that we may have
reached, you know, something
00:23:06
of a tipping point with these Elkhorn
00:23:08
and staghorn coral populations
00:23:09
because they're just so
depleted that you know,
00:23:12
there's just not that many
of them left to work with.
00:23:17
- As 2023 turned to 2024
and waters cooled in Florida
00:23:21
and warmed in the Southern hemisphere,
00:23:23
authorities officially declared the fourth
00:23:26
and most severe global bleaching
event in recorded history.
00:23:32
In general, corals in the
Indo-Pacific region have fared
00:23:35
much better than those in the Caribbean
00:23:37
because there are fewer
human cause stressors
00:23:40
and higher biodiversity still.
00:23:43
2024 was the fifth mass bleaching
event on the Great Barrier
00:23:47
Reef in just eight years.
00:23:50
And global sea surface temperatures
in 2024 are breaking the
00:23:54
shocking records of 2023.
00:23:57
The single most important
factor in whether
00:23:59
or not we reach a global tipping point
00:24:01
for coral is the frequency
of bleaching events.
00:24:05
So is it possible this threshold
has already been crossed?
00:24:09
- I think we tragically
have crossed a tipping point
00:24:12
for coral reefs.
00:24:13
We've seen the fourth rate
bleaching event for the reefs.
00:24:17
I thought it was gonna
take us a decade to be sure
00:24:21
that we passed a tipping point or not.
00:24:23
For the corals, we're now having 12 months
00:24:25
of 1.5 degrees centigrade of warming.
00:24:28
I think it's given us pretty
clear evidence that big areas
00:24:33
of coral reef are past a tipping point.
00:24:34
Now
00:24:39
- The coral and permafrost
situations are scary,
00:24:42
and there are only two of
the five tipping points
00:24:44
that are most likely to tip soon.
00:24:47
But Tim also said something
that sums up how I'm starting
00:24:50
to understand this
moment of global change.
00:24:52
- So wel, we're seeing this shocking news
00:24:55
of the bad climate tipping points.
00:24:56
We're also seeing the
first compelling evidence
00:24:59
for positive tipping points,
and they're accelerating.
00:25:02
And we see that as exponential
growth in the number
00:25:05
of solar panels or wind turbines
00:25:07
or electric vehicles that get rid
00:25:08
of greenhouse gas emissions.
00:25:10
And it's like a, a kind of
battle of the tipping points.
00:25:12
Now you've got this escalating risk
00:25:15
of the bad climate tipping points,
00:25:16
but you also see the rise of
the positive tipping points.
00:25:19
We need to, to stop
00:25:21
or limit the risk from
the bad tipping points
00:25:24
- To prevent the earth from reaching
00:25:25
irreversible tipping points.
00:25:27
The science is very clear.
00:25:29
We have to reach net zero by
the middle of this century,
00:25:32
and that's just a few decades away.
00:25:35
But what Tim says should
also give us hope.
00:25:38
The truth is, we're
adopting clean energy at an
00:25:40
exponential rate.
00:25:42
And unless you're paying attention
00:25:43
to every new advancement
in real time, it's easy
00:25:46
to miss the fact that now,
00:25:48
for the first time in human history,
00:25:50
we have a fighting chance
at reaching net zero
00:25:53
before it's too late.
00:25:54
- Historical production
00:25:55
of solar power have always
underestimated the technology,
00:25:59
and by quite funny amounts,
00:26:02
often projections about the next 10 years
00:26:05
of solar uptake would usually
be met within a single year.
00:26:09
When solar power is the
cheapest form of electricity
00:26:13
and it's been deployed,
it's really difficult
00:26:16
to make an economic case to
start a new coal power plant.
00:26:20
The human species might
00:26:21
- Not be great at a lot
00:26:23
of things like understanding
exponential change for one.
00:26:26
But I'd like to think that
we're pretty good at innovating,
00:26:30
which fuels my optimism about all this.
00:26:33
So in spite of seeing
so many of the impacts
00:26:36
of climate change firsthand,
I'm feeling hopeful.
00:26:40
We're already feeling the
impacts of our warming world,
00:26:44
but there's a lot we can
do to keep ourselves safe.
00:26:47
And that's exactly what we'll
explore in our next episode.
00:26:50
It's a deep exploration
of how we know when
00:26:52
to adapt and when to leave.
00:27:01
- Whoa.
