Thread: Earth has suffered irreversible damage

Earth has suffered irreversible damage: study
CTV.ca News Staff

Humans are damaging the Earth at such an unprecedented rate that the strain on the planet may destroy about two-thirds of its ecosystem services, according to a landmark international study.

The consequences of humans' activities are severe and include: new diseases, sudden changes in water quality, creation of "dead zones" along the coasts, the collapse of fisheries, and shifts in regional climate, according to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Synthesis Report.

"At the heart of this assessment is a stark warning," said the 45-member board.

"Human activity is putting such strain on the natural functions of Earth that the ability of the planet's ecosystems to sustain future generations can no longer be taken for granted," it said.

The four-year, 2,500-page assessment was drawn up by 1,300 researchers from 95 nations in an effort to inform global policy initiatives.

Scientists warn that about 60 per cent of the ecosystem services that support life on Earth, such as fresh water, air and water regulation and natural hazards, are being destroyed.

The report warns that the consequences of this degradation of the environment will significantly worsen over the next 50 years.

The report says humans have changed ecosystems more rapidly in the past 50 years than any other period.

"This was done largely to meet rapidly growing demands for food, fresh water, timber, fiber and fuel," a statement said, adding that this resulted in an irreversible loss of life on Earth, with some 10 to 30 per cent of mammal, bird and amphibian species threatened with extinction currently.

The changes in the ecosystem are owing to humans' efforts to meet rapidly growing demands for food, fresh water, timber, fibre and fuel, the report says.

"More land was converted to agriculture since 1945 than in the 18th and 19th centuries combined," according to the report's authors.

"More than half of all the synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, first made in 1913, ever used on the planet has been used since 1985."

"The over-riding conclusion of this assessment is that it lies within the power of human societies to ease the strains we are putting on the nature services of the planet, while continuing to use them to bring better living standards to all," said the MA board of directors in a statement.

Other warnings:

Deforestation influences the abundance of human pathogens such as malaria and cholera
Scientists project there will be progress in eliminating hunger but at rates too slow to halve the number of the hungry by 2015.
It is the world's poorest people who suffer the most from changes to the ecosystem.
Only four ecosystem services have been improved in the past half-century. These include: increased crop, livestock and aquaculture production, and increased carbon sequestration for worldwide climate regulation.
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment's work was prepared under the supervision of a 45-member board of directors, co-chaired by Dr. Robert Watson, chief scientist of The World Bank, and Dr. A. Hamid Zakri, director of the United Nations University's Institute of Advanced Studies.

This is just more liberal tree higher propaganda; the fact is we don’t need any trees or clean water. We have coke and artificial palm trees. We don’t need all these eco systems and furry little critters we do not hunt anymore, we have Mc Donalds.

What we need is more Bulldozers to clear land for shopping malls and more power plants and corporate polluters.

Have you ever noticed that the enviro-scientists always pick a date for their doom and gloom predicitons beyond their own reasonable life expectancy?

That way, when their predicitons of disaster turn out to be nonsense (remember the 1970's? Ice Age coming soon?), they'll be dead and won't have to be accountable for their mistakes.

Matt

man i would hate to have to be friends with the oracle

he is like that character on SNL who is always a downer


do you ever smile oracle?

The whole problem with studies about things such as global warming is that there are actually experts who do not agree with the scenario that you here on television about our future demise due to warming caused by humans. Who is to be believed?

Goddamn Fucking Filthy Humans!!

Originally Posted by Rakkasan

man i would hate to have to be friends with the oracle

he is like that character on SNL who is always a downer


do you ever smile oracle?

Debbie Downer!!!

Ben

People are making light of this thread but I do wonder how people can dismiss what so many scientist say will happen. I am not about to say that I know more than they do and just ignore what they say when they have studied the climate of the earth for years and have plenty to show that they have some valid points. On the other hand I would have a problem with blindly taking everything they say as fact either. Since I am not a scientist and do not have the time to really dig too deeply into the subject I am kind of stuck with not being able to come to a real conclusion on my own about how much of a role we are playing in global warming. Any thoughts besides conservatives who want to make light of the problem and liberals who want to act like "The Day After Tomorrow" is about to come true?

Originally Posted by partofme

People are making light of this thread but I do wonder how people can dismiss what so many scientist say will happen. I am not about to say that I know more than they do and just ignore what they say when they have studied the climate of the earth for years and have plenty to show that they have some valid points. On the other hand I would have a problem with blindly taking everything they say as fact either. Since I am not a scientist and do not have the time to really dig too deeply into the subject I am kind of stuck with not being able to come to a real conclusion on my own about how much of a role we are playing in global warming. Any thoughts besides conservatives who want to make light of the problem and liberals who want to act like "The Day After Tomorrow" is about to come true?

I have a few thoughts on this issue. First of all "Humans" are a natural part of the planet. We are just as natural as the birds and the bees. Since "humans are natural, whatever results from "human" activity is also natural. So if the planet is going to "run out" of resourses like the doomsday tree-huggers profess, well, so be it. It would be natural. After all, the dinosaurs went extinct, so might humans. It's all just a guess anyway.....

im so sick of these activist scientists...

Yeah that is a real depressing report.

I say the hell with it lets knock down some trees and make a few more parking lots and strip malls so we can all go comfort shopping.

I hate it when these doom and gloomer’s don’t share my disrespect for the planet, we need to tame and make this ball of dirt civilized and bow to our whims.

Lets all do this; it will make us feel better.