What is an Eco-tipping point?
EcoTipping Points are levers for restoring sustainability to our imperiled environment – small actions that tip the balance from decline to restoration by tapping the inborn power of nature and human societies to heal themselves. Many environmental and social problems are so complex and overwhelming. It’s hard to know where to begin but pioneering communities around the world are showing what it takes to succeed. The scientific goal of the EcoTipping Points Project is to better understand what made them successful. The pragmatic goal is to help people identify "tipping point" levers right at home – concrete actions that they and their community can act upon.
Twenty-two centuries ago, Archimedes said that, with the right lever and the right place to stand, he could move the world. Today, our world needs the right levers more than ever – to tip our planet and its ecological systems back from the brink.
Day by day, we face torrents of environmental bad news. Experts warn that our natural systems, from rainforests to ocean currents, may be nearing “tipping points,” catastrophic changes that can’t be undone for lifetimes to come.
It's hard to swim against a current propelled by powerful social and ecological forces. It’s cheap and easy to destroy our natural support systems. It seems overwhelmingly complicated and costly to save them.
But quietly, around the globe, a different kind of tipping point is emerging. Environmental pioneers in community organizations, business, and government are demonstrating how the right change can turn ecosystems away from ruin and back towards health and sustainability.
Center stage are powerful levers we call “EcoTipping Points”:
When resources are limited, EcoTipping Points show how to leverage small investments into large returns. They provide alternatives to heavy regulation and public spending. Instead of paddling against the current, they change the flow of the river, offering a perspective that transcends political ideologies. They demonstrate that citizens and the private sector don’t have to wait for government action.
EcoTipping Points are about hope in a time when it’s easy to despair. But they’re not magic bullets to solve environmental problems overnight. What they can do is set eco-social systems moving in healthier directions. And they’re not about utopian dreams. They’re already at work. Right now.
Twenty-two centuries ago, Archimedes said that, with the right lever and the right place to stand, he could move the world. Today, our world needs the right levers more than ever – to tip our planet and its ecological systems back from the brink.
Day by day, we face torrents of environmental bad news. Experts warn that our natural systems, from rainforests to ocean currents, may be nearing “tipping points,” catastrophic changes that can’t be undone for lifetimes to come.
It's hard to swim against a current propelled by powerful social and ecological forces. It’s cheap and easy to destroy our natural support systems. It seems overwhelmingly complicated and costly to save them.
But quietly, around the globe, a different kind of tipping point is emerging. Environmental pioneers in community organizations, business, and government are demonstrating how the right change can turn ecosystems away from ruin and back towards health and sustainability.
Center stage are powerful levers we call “EcoTipping Points”:
- A Philippine marine sanctuary rescues both a coral reef fishery and the islanders who depend on it.
- On Manhattan’s Lower East Side, community gardens launch a transformation from urban decay to renewal.
- The revival of rainwater catchment dams in India brings dried-up rivers and shrinking farming villages back to life.
- In the Peruvian rainforest, plastic jugs, which serve as breeding habitat for colorful frogs valued by hobbyists, give local farmers a reason to preserve the forest instead of cutting it down.
- Out of the flames of the Rodney King riots, a nature park sparks the revival of a South CentralLos Angeles neighborhood.
- Instead of building an expensive wastewater plant, Arcata, California builds an artificial wetland that filters water while attracting wildlife, birdwatchers and other visitors.
- Ecological pest management helps Indian cotton farmers to escape a descending spiral of pesticide poisoning and debt.
- Community mangrove management in Thailand restores the local fishery and revives the local economy.
When resources are limited, EcoTipping Points show how to leverage small investments into large returns. They provide alternatives to heavy regulation and public spending. Instead of paddling against the current, they change the flow of the river, offering a perspective that transcends political ideologies. They demonstrate that citizens and the private sector don’t have to wait for government action.
EcoTipping Points are about hope in a time when it’s easy to despair. But they’re not magic bullets to solve environmental problems overnight. What they can do is set eco-social systems moving in healthier directions. And they’re not about utopian dreams. They’re already at work. Right now.