What is Environmental Degradation?

Two new studies have warned that humans are depleting their own ‘life support systems’ more rapidly now than they have done in the last 10,000 years by creating greenhouse gases, damaging land and freshwater systems, and releasing large quantities of agricultural chemicals into the environment.

Over five years, the international teams of scientists behind these studies have isolated the nine factors essential to human life on earth. Four of these factors: climate change driven by humans; land system change; the loss of biosphere integrity, and high levels of phosphorous and nitrogen in the oceans caused by fertiliser use; have exceeded safe levels.

The research findings, which feature the work of scientists from around the world, will be presented next week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Unprecedented changes

The study has found that changes in the last 60 years are unprecedented throughout the previous 10 millennia, marking a detachment from a comparatively stable climate as human civilisation has become more advanced. Since the 1950s, the world’s urban populations have increased 7 fold, and fossil fuel energy and fertiliser use has multiplied. Carbon dioxide levels are at record levels and the rate of species extinction has increased 100 times due to loss of biosphere integrity, while the amount of nitrogen entering the oceans has increased 4 times. Although conditions vary significantly across different parts of the world, scientists are universally observing rapid environmental deterioration.

A new state

Will Steffen, lead author on both studies from the Australian National University and the Stockholm Resilience Centre, explained these changes that have taken place since the 1950s are showing few signs of slowing. They are a direct result of human activity, he has said, due to increased economic development over this time, rather than natural variability.

Speaking about the implications of these changes for humans, Steffen said, “If the Earth is going to move to a warmer state, 5-6C warmer, with no ice caps, it will do so and that won’t be good for large mammals like us. People say the world is robust and that’s true, there will be life on Earth, but the Earth won’t be robust for us.”

He dismissed the view that humans will be able to use technology to adapt to these changes as fiction rather than fact, arguing that large mammals, such as humans, will not be able to evolve fast enough.

“It’s clear the economic system is driving us towards an unsustainable future and people of my daughter’s generation will find it increasingly hard to survive. History has shown that civilisations have risen, stuck to their core values and then collapsed because they didn’t change. That’s where we are today.”

Spotlight on Asia

In Asian countries, the rapid growth in economic development, urban population, transport and energy use in Asian countries has resulted in environmental degradation. You can read about this topic in this article: Indoor Air Quality in Asian Countries.