Humans are "eating away at our own life support systems" at a previously unseen rate that is putting our own existence in doubt, according to the latest research.
Two studies, published in Science and The Anthropocene Review, have produced worrying findings for humans as a whole, after they revealed that we are adversely affecting the planet in various ways at a faster rate than ever before.
The studies, which were conducted by scientists from the US, Sweden, Germany and India, found that of the nine basic processes that underpin our very existence on this planet, human activity has lead to four of them exceeding "safe" levels: "climate change, loss of biosphere integrity, land system change and the high level of phosphorus and nitrogen flowing into the oceans due to fertiliser use".
Pic via Global Water Forum/Flickr
The end result of all this is that the conditions on Earth may soon become inhospitable towards human life as a result of our own activities. They found that for the last 10,000 years, the planet has had a relatively stable climate, but in the last 60 years, the rate of change has accelerated greatly. Carbon dioxide levels are at historic highs, while species are becoming extinct at a rate more than 100 times faster than before.
Prof Will Steffen of the Australian National University and the Stockholm Resilience Centre, who was the lead author of both studies, told The Guardian “when economic systems went into overdrive, there was a massive increase in resource use and pollution. It used to be confined to local and regional areas but we’re now seeing this occurring on a global scale. These changes are down to human activity, not natural variability."
"History has shown that civilisations have risen, stuck to their core values and then collapsed because they didn't change. That’s where we are today."
He added that while some argue technology can help, he stated that was only a "belief system, it’s not based on fact" and that there is no evidence that humans would be able to evolve qucikly enough to cope with all the changes. Furthermore, he stated that the economic system was “fundamentally flawed” as it was the driving force behind all the damage being done to these life support systems.
Overall, the changes we're bringing about are bringing us perilously close to "tipping points" that would be impossible to return from once we've crossed, and that would make the world less hospitable to human life.
TL;DR version: We're pretty much f**ked, and we really need to clean up our act.
Via The Guardian. Main pic via Señor Codo/Flickr
