Holy shit. You're earlier question regarding whether we're getting near a tipping point seems now to be, have we reached it? We all know that history repeats itself, but we're now experiencing something that has no historical reference, in the modern sense of the word. Take the word 'collapse' for example. It implies an unforeseen event. It's entirely possible that we're missing one or more elements in our environmental equations that could lead to sudden and catastrophic collapse.

Another analogy might be an illness response. If the planet is indeed an organism, then what we're experiencing might be equivalent to an immunity or autoimmune response. Sweating. Fighting off the bad guys. Vomiting and shaking perhaps. I won't say I like being that sick, but such episodes have been memorable experiences and not entirely bad.