<
https://theconversation.com/its-not-just-climate-weve-already-breached-most-of-the-earths-limits-a-safer-fairer-future-means-treading-lightly-206678>
"People once believed the planet could always accommodate us. That the
resilience of the Earth system meant nature would always provide. But we now
know this is not necessarily the case. As big as the world is, our impact is
bigger.
In research released today, an international team of scientists from the Earth
Commission, of which we were part, identified eight “safe” and “just”
boundaries spanning five vital planetary systems: climate change, the
biosphere, freshwater, nutrient use in fertilisers and air pollution. This is
the first time an assessment of boundaries has quantified the harms to people
from changes to the Earth system.
“Safe” means boundaries maintaining stability and resilience of our planetary
systems on which we rely. “Just”, in this work, means boundaries which minimise
significant harm to people. Together, they’re a health barometer for the
planet.
Assessing our planet’s health is a big task. It took the expertise of 51
world-leading researchers from natural and social sciences. Our methods
included modelling, literature reviews and expert judgement. We assessed
factors such as tipping point risks, declines in Earth system functions,
historical variability and effects on people.
Alarmingly, we found humanity has exceeded the safe and just limits for four of
five systems. Aerosol pollution is the sole exception. Urgent action, based on
the best available science, is now needed."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
