Colourful quote on the environment

My eye caught this interesting excerpt from a full-page article in today's Straits Times. I thought it was excellent for BANG-ing for environment-related questions, as it contains a colourful imagery. It is often argued that Mother Nature can wait, as the polar ice caps won't melt overnight, so we should be attending to other more pressing issues like poverty and terrorism first. Environmental issues are thus often relegated to the backseat. But this quote shows us that while environmental changes like global warming occur gradually, there is a tipping point, the crossing of which will result in a sudden change that we may not be prepared for. So the graph is not one of gradual decline throughout; up to a particular point, there will be a sharp plunge. This serves as a warning bell for us not to always delay actions towards tackling environmental issues. We had better take actions while we can before we cross the point of no return and regret......