Overshooting Earth’s Boundaries: An Interview with Bill Rees

Take a pinch of the spores of some rapidly-growing fungus and drop them into a gallon jug, one whose walls are coated with nutrient so the fungus can grow as fast as it likes. Suppose you do this one morning, and that exactly 4 days later you find that the fungus has filled the jar and is just beginning to overflow it. How full was the jug the morning of the 3rd day?<p>It was half full.

Climate optimists seem oblivious to the concept of planetary boundaries. Is it a concept generally supported by scientists, and would we still overshoot them if we hit net zero emissions?

The problem was the promise after the cold War, that everyone could life like a king, that the madness would scale.