Ocean Sentry
More than two dozen leading scientists issued a warning Wednesday that human pressures on the planet are pushing its food, water and environmental systems to the breaking point. Their conclusions, published in an unusual paper in the scientific journal Nature, are the first attempt to define the physical and biological boundaries of Earth as its largest nations increase their development and populations.
“For lack of a better phrase, the Earth becomes a bit more like Humpty Dumpty,” said report co-author Jon Foley, director of the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment. “You push it, it falls over, and it breaks. You can’t put it back together again.”
The study defines nine planetary subsystems that need to be watched closely to avoid irreversible damage. They include climate change, global freshwater use, ocean acidification, species extinction, ozone depletion, conversion of natural land to cropland, chemical pollution, atmospheric pollution, and nitrogen and phosphorus additions to the biosphere and oceans…. Read Full Article by Tom Meersman
