Climate communicators (myself included) use the term “tipping points” to talk about the thresholds beyond which the Earth’s systems switch into new states, often abruptly and irreversibly. The point about talking about tipping points is to encourage action; the question is whether this phrase is helpful. An interesting read from Kate Yoder at Grist.

“Talking about tipping points, as scary as they are, might not inspire people to do something about climate change. That’s because fear is an unreliable motivator. It might be key to generating attention online, but it can too often leave people feeling defeated and disengaged.”
—Bob Kopp, Climate change and sea level rise researcher at Rutgers University