Figure 5-1: The characteristic
time scales of some key processes in the Earth system: atmospheric composition
(blue), climate system (red), ecological system (green), and socio-economic system
(purple). "Time scale" is defined here as the time needed for at
least half of the consequences of a change in a driver of the process to have
been expressed. Problems of adaptation arise when response process (such as the
longevity of some plants) are much slower than driving process (the change in
temperature). Inter-generational equity problems arise for all processes with
time scales greater than a human generation, since a large part of the consequences
of activities of a given generation will be borne by future generations.
