Do we have time to fix global warming?

Even Vladimir Lenin was surprised when the Russian Revolution began in 1917. Is this just an interesting historical tidbit or a profound example of how fast seemingly stable political, social and economic systems can collapse? The subject of how long lasting our current system really is comes up frequently in discussions about global warming and what we can do about it. Usually the conversation goes something like this: "Scientists tell us we're getting close to the point of no return. We don't have much time left to drastically cut our carbon emissions."