Political Feedback Loops and Climate Change (Opinion) : TreeHugger

Political Feedback Loops and Climate Change (Opinion) : TreeHugger: "Climate change feedback loops are self-reinforcing cycles; problems that echo off each other and quickly spiral out of control. Here’s how it goes: Melting tundra in Siberia releases methane into the atmosphere, which raises the water temperature, which melts sea ice, causing more solar heat to be absorbed by the oceans. The situation snowballs and becomes increasingly harder to contain.

A similar chain of events could result if we don’t manage an world-wide treaty before these effects are triggered. If we miss the window, the rising thermometer could set off a chain that will push the global political climate into a dangerous feedback loop—locking us into permanent inaction on climate change."