Humans Could Turn Earth Into World That May Not Sustain Us After Crossing 6 Planetary Boundaries

Humans are crossing most of the planetary boundaries defined by scientists. The latter warned that we are turning Earth into a world that may not sustain us in the future.

Humans Have Crossed 6 of 9 Planetary Boundaries

In a new study that assesses whether and to what extent we have crossed nine "planetary boundaries," experts warn that human activity is changing Earth into a planet that may not be able to sustain the society we have constructed.

The research is based on a 2009 paper that originally identified nine planetary restrictions that preserve Earth's environment as it was when people lived there before the Industrial Revolution. Before the industrial revolution, when people started burning enormous amounts of fossil fuels and releasing heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, this period lasted roughly the last 10,000 years. Researchers in the new study warn about possible consequences of this departure from the human baseline.

According to Katherine Richardson, an earth systems scientist at the University of Copenhagen and the study's principal investigator, it's similar to blood pressure. While having a heart attack is not guaranteed if your blood pressure is over 120/80, it does increase your risk, therefore we try to lower it as much as we can.

The nine planetary boundaries are climate change; ocean acidification and marine biological systems; stratospheric ozone depletion; disruption of the nitrogen and phosphorus cycle; global water use; land use change; erosion of biodiversity; the increase of aerosols and existing substances in the atmosphere such as synthetic chemicals; and the introduction of new entities into the biosphere.

Humans have already crossed six of the nine planetary boundaries. The only three categories humans have not yet gone beyond are ocean acidification, atmospheric aerosol loading, and stratospheric ozone depletion. Due to the Montreal Protocol, an international agreement, only the last of these is heading in the correct direction. The protective ozone layer in the atmosphere has been able to recover due to countries reducing their usage of ozone-depleting chemicals under this agreement.

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How Planetary Boundaries Help Us?

Since the initial introduction of the planetary boundaries, scientists have argued over the merits of such a system as a whole and the specifics of these measurements. Richardson views planetary boundaries as a simple method to comprehend the extent of human exploitation of the earth.

She considers it very favorable in that it functions as a sort of bank account, and realizing how we interact with the Earth gives us the ability to create sustainable societies. For her, it's necessary for society.

Others claim that while gaining a greater awareness of the issue is beneficial, the planetary boundaries concept fails to take into account the inertia and complexity we must overcome to bring ourselves back within the bounds of our planet. From a policy perspective, according to political scientist Victor Galaz of the Stockholm Resilience Center, who also specializes in climate governance and was not involved in the new study, we don't require more information to take action.

Jonathan Foley, co-author of the 2009 report and executive director of Project Drawdown, a charity that creates roadmaps for climate solutions, said his focus has shifted to action. He claims that even while his organization's efforts set out strategies for addressing one boundary, climate change, the others still require similar work.

In his opinion, the next phase would be to move from planetary borders to planetary solutions. As scientists, Foley acknowledges that they are very good at articulating problems, but they also need to develop their skills in framing solutions and demonstrating how they may be appealing and useful to everyone, not just those who care about the environment.