One A new study published in the journal “Science” This Wednesday warns that the planet has crossed six of the nine limits of stability and resilience, which could put Earth into a new geological period. “Earth is now beyond the scope of safe operation for humanity,” the investigation warns.
What is at stake are the limits to which the planet’s major systems (such as climate, water, and biodiversity) can no longer maintain the safe and stable conditions observed over the past 10,000 years.
“This Holocene period, which began at the end of the last ice age and during which agriculture and modern civilizations developed, was characterized by relatively stable and warm planetary conditions. Human activities have now pushed the Earth outside the environmental fluctuations of the Holocene, giving rise to the proposed Anthropocene.” Researchers at Stockholm University.
The first such assessment was conducted in 2009, concluding at that time that three of the limits had been exceeded. Later, in 2015, this number increased to four. Now, scientists have found that six of the nine limits to the processes that regulate the stability and resilience of the Earth system have been overcome. This was the first assessment to include all nine operations, making it “the first scientific health check of the entire planet.”
More specifically, the researchers identify that boundaries have been crossed with respect to climate change, biosphere integrity, the Earth system, new entities, and changes in freshwater and biogeochemical fluxes.
Although breaking these boundaries is not considered irreversible, they are points at which the planet is at risk of undergoing profound changes in the physical, biological and chemical systems that ensure the continuity of life (on the supports as we know it) on Earth.
“This update to the planetary boundaries framework could serve as a renewed warning to humanity that Earth is at risk of leaving its Holocene-like state,” say the scientists. “Our model results show that one of the most powerful means available to humanity to combat climate change is to respect the limits of Earth system change.”
