There are a body of scientists and researchers that have been warning that we have crossed a multitude of tipping points and have slipped into runaway abrupt climate change.
Myself and Robin Westenra interviewed N.Z. climate scientist and Nobel Peace Prize winning IPCC panel member Dr Jim Salinger in November 2015 when he stated he believes we have been in abrupt climate change since 2010 at least.
The first person to bring it to my consciousness was Professor Guy McPherson, professor emeritus of the University of Arizona. McPherson has been vilified and ostracised for speaking about the imminent extinction of the human race. “Shoot the messenger”, a time honoured response from despots to un-palliative news.
As every day passes more evidence is appearing that runaway abrupt climate change is underway and McPherson’s dire predictions based on synthesizing a multitude of positive reinforcing loops is becoming more and more impossible to refute. Please note that I spent the first 2 years after learning of McPherson’s analysis trying in vain to disprove his conclusions.
” New research suggests the Earth’s climate could be more sensitive to greenhouse gases than thought, raising the spectre of an ‘apocalyptic side of bad’ temperature rise of more than 7C within a lifetime”, covered here in The Independent. This latest mainstream media article makes the point that we could have a 7C temperature rise within a generation, myself and Professor McPherson believe we are well into that window already.
Nonlinear climate sensitivity and its implications for future greenhouse warming as detailed in a paper at advances.sciencemag.org
Where would a 7C temperature rise leave planet earth?
In a well researched 2008 article in The Guardian, Oliver Tickell surmised;
On a planet 4C hotter, all we can prepare for is extinction .
The extinction of the human race will leave this planet bathing in ionising radiation from the melt-down of 450 nuclear plants and the subsequent 1200 spent fuel pool fires which will aerosol radionuclides into the atmosphere in a firestorm of heat and radiation yet to be witnessed on this planet.Perhaps our most long lasting legacy.
The below photo was taken at the crater edge at Tana, Vanuatu on one of my ocean passages.

What can we do now that we are in runaway and a climate change denier is the President elect in the second largest emitting nation on the planet? Trump has called global warming “bullshit”
Hope for the best, plan for the worst,as we face the perfect storm.
Another pressing ‘Tipping point’ will be the collapse of industrial civilisation once all faith is lost in the dire situation we find ourselves in. This event could unfold with one single climatic event like the collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Shelf or the discharge of the 50 gigatonne methane burst as predicted my Dr’s Shakova and Semiletov of the University of Fairbanks Asaska. This makes everything we love and hold dear a day to day proposition.
Methane Hydrates, Extended interview with Natalia Shakova by Nick Breeze
The situation could not be more dire, I can say that without a hint of hyperbole.
Professor McPherson and I will be touring NZ speaking about this predicament. Readers world wide can follow the tour via Facebook as we will live-stream some of the Keynote Presentations from the universities where we will be speaking.
Over the years I have completed 16 ocean passages on small yachts, over half as skipper. One of the over-riding responsibilities of a captain is to keep his passengers, crew, vessel and anyone who can come into contact with it safe at all times and when disaster strikes be brutally honest with the truth, which enables everyone to prepare as best they can.
I believe we should be declaring a Global Climate Emergency, it will be one of the key aims of our forthcoming tour to pressure the political parties of NZ to face the reality of our predicament, most especially the Green Party of Aotearoa N.Z.. Valuable time is being lost in the denial of abrupt climate change.
At the edge of extinction, only love remains.






