[Intro]
What?
Really? Come on,
Crossing the Rubicon
Passed the point of know return
Will we ever learn?
[Verse 1]
Going to blast past
Foot on the gas
Going to blow by
Don’t know why
[Bridge]
Crossing the line
At this very time
[Chorus]
Really? Come on,
Crossing the Rubicon
Passed the point of know return
Will we ever learn?
[Instrumental, Guitar Solo, Drum Fills]
[Verse 2]
Turning up the heat
Till we’re cooked complete
Refuse to retreat
Even though we’re beat
[Bridge]
Crossing the line
At this very time
[Chorus]
Really? Come on,
Crossing the Rubicon
Passed the point of know return
Will we ever learn?
[Instrumental, Saxophone Solo, Bass]
[Bridge]
Crossing the line
At this very time
Off the ledge
Over the edge
No stall free-fall
[Instrumental, Piano]
[Outro]
Crossing the line
At this very time
Off the ledge
Over the edge
No stall free-fall
Origin of the Phrase
“Crossing the Rubicon” is an idiom that means passing a point of no return. It originates from a historical event involving Julius Caesar in 49 BCE.
The phrase comes from an incident during the Roman Republic. Julius Caesar, a Roman general and statesman, led his army across the Rubicon River, which marked the boundary between the Roman province of Cisalpine Gaul and Italy proper, controlled directly by Rome. By crossing this river with his army, Caesar defied the Roman Senate’s explicit orders and initiated a civil war.
A SCIENCE NOTE
Tipping points are Critical Milestones that directly impact the rate of acceleration in climate change by multiplying the number and intensity of feedback loops. Identifying and understanding these tipping points is crucial for climate science and policymaking. Crossing multiple tipping points could lead to a domino effect, resulting in a much more rapid and severe climate change than currently projected.
Push a glass toward the edge of a table and eventually it will fall off on its own. No matter how slowly or meticulously you push… no matter how you weight or fill the glass, it will reach a tipping point and fall off before being pushed completely off the table. No matter whether you believe the glass is half-empty or half-full, when the tipping point is reached it will plummet out-of-control to its end. This is science not fate, faith, nor belief. Human induced climate change has resulted in environmental tipping points being breached.
Tipping points, when crossed, trigger self-sustaining feedback loops that are no longer dependent on human activity. Similar to when a domino topples over hitting two more dominoes that in turn fall hitting more dominoes. Thus, the name The Domino Effect. It can also be visualized as The Snowball Effect. A tipping point is like a snowball rolling down a hill growing in mass and velocity (momentum). When a tipping point is crossed, it results in cumulative and reinforced global warming.
A look at seven of the nine tipping points crossed that show the proverbial snowball is already rolling. The first dominoes have fallen and will continue to knock down more tiles with each escalating step.