WASHINGTON: A recent paper talked about considerable changes occurred in four of the nine “planetary boundaries” of the Earth. The human activities are responsible for these big alterations in planet.
The boundaries consist of the proportion of extinction, deforestation, the loss of biosphere integrity, the level of carbon dioxide. The function of these planetary boundaries is to provide a “safe operating space” to the human beings. However, the crack in these boundaries can send human beings a step closer to the doomsday.
Steve Carpenter, the director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Limnology states that the report will work like a forewarning for all the policy makers. It is a clear indication that humans are moving beyond the boundaries which can lead to huge destruction.
Elena Bennett, a professor at McGill’s Scholl of the environment informs that the nitrogen phosphorus cycle is presently the most affected boundary. The cycle is associated with the production of food and availability of clean water. The actions of human beings have changed it up to 200 to 300 percent. In comparison, carbon cycle has mounted up to 10-20 percent. Hence, such a massive damage to nitrogen boundary can badly affect food and water in the future.
The report printed in the Journal Science under the title of “Planetary Boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing planet”. The researchers intend to talk about the report at the World Economic Forum.
