Now that everyone understands what an exponential curve looks like, how it works, and how it brings life-threatening risk to their lives, it might be time to re-examine the realities of climate change, too.
Howard Kunreuther and Paul Slovic credit the coronavirus with teaching many more people in the world the concept of an exponential curve: “in which a quantity grows at an increasing rate over time, as the number of people contracting the virus currently is doing.”
Exponential growth is a hard concept for many people to grasp, according to Kunreuther and Slovic, until faced with the realities of a crisis. But the effects of climate change will work the same way, they argue.
And if there’s any silver lining in this mess, it’s that the coronavirus pandemic is teaching us a valuable lesson about the perils of ignoring destructive processes—and perhaps even larger, longer-term disasters—that increase exponentially. Even if growth looks mild in the moment—think of the earliest segments on an exponential curve like the red line shown in the illustration above—it will soon enough be severe. In other words, delay is the enemy.
The signs of exponential increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are already there, according to the article. Like with coronavirus, delaying a worldwide response will have dire consequences in the future.
FULL STORY: What the Coronavirus Curve Teaches Us About Climate Change
'We are Entering the Steep Slope of the Epidemic Curve'
Dr. Scott Gottlieb, President Trump's former Food and Drug Administration commissioner, warned CBS viewers recently that the U.S. was at a "dangerous tipping point" in the pandemic. "We are on the cusp of exponential growth," he added later.
'A Tidal Wave of Omicron Coming'
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson sounded an alarm on the public health threat posed by the Omicron variant. On Monday, he announced that a British resident had become the first person in the world whose death is tied to the new variant.
Falling Transit Ridership 'Disastrous' for Greenhouse Gas Reductions
With ridership at record lows and agencies struggling to stay afloat, public transit around the world will need robust investment to recover after the pandemic.
Analysis: Cybertruck Fatality Rate Far Exceeds That of Ford Pinto
The Tesla Cybertruck was recalled seven times last year.
National Parks Layoffs Will Cause Communities to Lose Billions
Thousands of essential park workers were laid off this week, just before the busy spring break season.
Retro-silient?: America’s First “Eco-burb,” The Woodlands Turns 50
A master-planned community north of Houston offers lessons on green infrastructure and resilient design, but falls short of its founder’s lofty affordability and walkability goals.
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Analysis: Cybertruck Fatality Rate Far Exceeds That of Ford Pinto
The Tesla Cybertruck was recalled seven times last year.
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