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.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Planning for Accessibility: Proximity is More Important than Mobility
Accessibility-based planning minimizes the distance that people must travel to reach desired services and activities. Measured this way, increased density can provide more total benefits than increased speeds.
World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
Caltrans will soon close half of the 101 Freeway in order to continue construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing near Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.
Eviction Looms for Low-Income Tenants as Rent Debt Rises
Nonprofit housing operators across the country face almost $10 billion in rent debt.
Brightline West Breaks Ground
The high-speed rail line will link Las Vegas and the Los Angeles area.
Colorado Bans No-Fault Evictions
In most cases, landlords must provide a just cause for evicting tenants.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
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