Humans are halfway to approaching the 1 trillion ton mark for carbon emissions released into the atmosphere, which would be the tipping point for causing dangerous climate change, according to a new study released by the journal Nature (and reported on by Wired).  We could reach that potentially devastating phase in as few as fifty years, but the report, along with others in the issue, provide a simpler approach to addressing the climate crisis, one that could help reshape how policymakers look at the problem.  We need to aim at lowering our total carbon budget and reduce emissions steadily, rather than trying to establish “stabilization levels”  that balance the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere.

Unless emissions begin to decline very soon, severe disruption to the climate system will entail expensive adaptation measures and may eventually require cleaning up the mess by actively removing CO2 from the atmosphere.

If we continue to burn fossil fuels and add to the billions of tons of carbon already released into the atmosphere we will surely increase our risk of warming planet past 50%.  Let’s hope these studies put the problem in clear, undeniable terms that will motivate policymakers to act more quickly to stop climate change.

Photo: faeryan’s flickr photostream (creative commons)