Planet Earth is halfway to becoming inhospitable to humans according to a Swedish scientist.
Johan Rockström, Swedish environmental science professor and executive director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre says we have violated four of the nine so-called planetary boundaries essential for human life on earth.
Two of those are “core boundaries”, were we would “drive the earth system into a new state.” In a recent Science Magazine report, professor Rockström expressed scientist’s concerns that humanity has already crossed four of the nine “planetary boundaries”.
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“The planet has been our best friend by buffering our actions and showing its resilience,” he said. “But for the first time ever, we might shift the planet from friend to foe.”
sputnik news reports:
According to the Stockholm Resilience Centre, in 2009, a group of 28 internationally renowned climate scientists devised a framework to monitor Earth’s vital signs based on nine “planetary boundaries” within which human civilization can continue to thrive.
Those boundaries are stratospheric ozone depletion, Loss of biosphere integrity (biodiversity loss and extinctions), Chemical pollution and the release of novel entities, Climate change, Ocean acidification, Freshwater consumption and [modifications to] the global hydrological cycle, Land system change, Nitrogen and phosphorus flows to the biosphere and oceans, and Atmospheric aerosol loading.
The 9 planetary boundaries
Four of the nine boundaries have now been crossed as a result of human activity. The scientists say that two of these, climate change and biosphere integrity, are “core boundaries.” Significantly altering either of these “core boundaries” would “drive the earth system into a new state.”
The only thing we are actually winning at is our freshwater use and ocean acidification.
While we as the human race may have gone too far, Rockstrom doesn’t believe we have hit the point of no return, yet. The scientist is using the planetary boundary theory not as a doomsday message but as an analytical tool to keep the planet safe for humanity. He said nations can cut their carbon emissions to almost nothing and pull the Earth back across the climate boundary.
“For the first time, we have a framework for growth, for eradicating poverty and hunger, and for improving health,” he said.
