In 1992, 1,700 of the world’s leading scientists, among whom were the majority of Nobel laureates in the sciences, issued a warning for humanity to wake up and start conserving the environment without which we cannot exist.
However, it seems that little notice has been given to the worrying information on how much time we have left with the tempo we have taken in the destruction of our only habitat: Earth.
Now, more than 15,000 scientists from around the world issued a second warning which says that there is only so little time left for us to change before the point of no return. In truth, we have caused so much harm to Earth’s ecosystems that it has started affecting our lives and it will only get worse.
“Soon it will be too late to shift course away from our failing trajectory, and time is running out,” writes William J. Ripple, professor of ecology at Oregon State University.
We have become the next target of our destructive habits, and the boomerang of our actions is soon going to hit us hard.
“The authors of the 1992 declaration feared that humanity was pushing Earth’s ecosystems beyond their capacities to support the web of life.” states the Second Notice issued by the scientific community.
“Since 1992, with the exception of stabilizing the stratospheric ozone layer, humanity has failed to make sufficient progress in generally solving these foreseen environmental challenges, and alarmingly, most of them are getting far worse.”
We have focused too much on financial progress, thinking that our actions will never cost us anything. However, our relentless overuse of the natural resources and, in turn, the destruction of the environment will only lead to the destruction of our only habitat.
We have done so much harm to the environment we live in with the rising greenhouse gasses from excessive burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and excessive farming. Which is more, as the letter notes, we have unleashed a mass extinction event, “the sixth in roughly 540 million years.”
“Many current life forms could be annihilated or at least committed to extinction by the end of this century.”
However, people seem to somehow dissociate themselves from the term ‘environment,’ treating it as an alien phenomenon that has little to do with their lives. We tend to forget how dependant we are on the environment we’re so keen on destroying.
While some do it knowingly, reaching for higher profits and power, the majority choose to remain fully unaware of the way they contribute to this negative trend that will cost us more and more with each passing year.
“We must recognize, in our day-to-day lives and in our governing institutions, that Earth with all its life is our only home.”
In the end, where will you go when the air and water become poisonous, and the ground too toxic to bear any fruit? We are all part of the delicate natural balance, and we have long tilted the scales in the illusion that we were doing ourselves a favor.
The truth is, when everything you take for granted is finally gone, it will be too late to turn back. Earth can exist without us. We cannot exist without it.
Spread the awareness!
A professional writer with over a decade of incessant writing skills. Her topics of interest and expertise range from health, nutrition and psychology.