[slowmovintarget]

Tipping point implies a hard boundary of "too far," making politicians believe it is someone else's problem until we reach that point.

What we have is an accelerating process that will soon pass beyond our ability to absorb, deflect, or survive. The words absolutely affect the thinking for how to deal with the problem. The words also affect the arguments one will have to overcome in order to act. (Not counting the head in the sand argument of "no it isn't".)