The planet’s climate, biodiversity, land, freshwater, nutrient pollution and “novel” chemicals are all out of place, according to a new scientific paper.
Earth is exceeding its “safe operating space for humanity” in six of nine key measurements of its health, and two of the remaining three are heading in the wrong direction, a new study has said.
The planet’s climate, biodiversity, land, freshwater, nutrient pollution and “novel” chemicals (human-made compounds like microplastics and nuclear waste) are all off-kilter, according to a group of international scientists.
Only the acidity of the oceans, the health of the air and the ozone layer are within the boundaries considered safe, and both ocean and air pollution are heading in the wrong direction, the study in the journal Science Advances found.
“We are in very bad shape,” said study co-author Johan Rockstrom, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany.
“We show in this analysis that the planet is losing resilience and the patient is sick.”
In 2009, Professor Rockstrom and other researchers created nine different broad boundary areas and used scientific measurements to judge Earth’s overall health.
The paper revealed on Wednesday was an update from 2015 and it added a sixth factor to the unsafe category.
Water went from “barely safe” to the “out-of-bounds” category because of worsening river run-off, better measurements and understanding of the problem, Professor Rockstrom said.
These boundaries “determine the fate of the planet”, he said, adding that nine factors have been “scientifically well established” by numerous outside studies.
Source: https://news.sky.com/story/earth-is-exceeding-safe-operating-space-for-humanity-study-says-12960795