Forget global tipping points, act locally (journal)

Time to forget global tipping points

The idea that Earth is approaching a point of no return is probably untrue and almost certainly unhelpful. No theoretical or empirical evidence exists for such a claim, and a widespread belief in it threatens to push ecological science in the wrong direction.To deny the likelihood of an impending global tipping point is not to deny that we are transforming the biosphere in ways that are likely to disgrace us in the eyes of future generations. Much of our planet’s ecology can and will be lost unless we focus much greater effort on conserving and restoring it, but it is the local and regional levels that are the key for conservation and management.