More than 15,000 scientists signed a warning letter to humanity. Its namesake? "A Second Notice." These experts are warning humanity for the second time against catastrophic biodiversity loss and widespread misery for humans, in a cautionary message for humans to make major changes.
The open letter, signed by 15,364 scientists from 184 countries, was published on Monday in BioScience. The massive group of scientists, led by William J. Ripple of Oregon State University, is pleading for humans to cut greenhouse gas emissions, phase out fossil fuels, reduce deforestation, and reverse the trend of collapsing biodiversity.
“Soon it will be too late to shift course away from our failing trajectory, and time is running out,” the authors concluded. “We must recognize, in our day-to-day lives and in our governing institutions, that Earth with all its life is our only home.”
Since 1960, freshwater resources and vertebrate species have decreased by around 25 percent. Marine dead zones have skyrocketed by three-quarters. Carbon dioxide emissions have increased by 62 percent since 1960. The human population has increased by 35 percent and livestock by 20 percent.
“Moreover,” the authors write, “we have unleashed a mass extinction event, the sixth in roughly 540 million years, wherein many current life forms could be annihilated or at least committed to extinction by the end of this century.”
“The rapid global decline in ozone-depleting substances shows that we can make positive change when we act decisively,” they wrote. “We have also made advancements in reducing extreme poverty and hungry.” Other global successes include: decline in fertility rates, decline in deforestation, and rapid growth in the renewable-energy sector, all of which are happening in certain regions.
Within the doom-and-gloom disastrous future that scientists have predicted in their research, they offered several solutions. Though neither easy nor simple, they could reverse or at least curb humanity's current trajectory.
One solution, likely the most obvious: Phase out fossil fuels and increase green technologies and renewable energy. Plus, divest from fossil fuels altogether. Divestment—which refers to the ending of monetary investments of fossil fuels—would “encourage positive environmental change.”
The letter urges us all to prioritize reserves for the world’s land, marine, freshwater, and aerial habitats—particularly those that are well-funded and well-managed. Maintaining nature’s “ecosystem services” by ending the conversion of forests, grasslands, and other native habitats was another recommendation. Ecosystem services are services that humans can benefit from by letting nature function normally. Those two recommendations above relate to three other recommendations: restoring native plant communities, rewilding regions with native species, and implementing adequate policy to end the poaching crisis.
The economic structure should address wealth inequalities in order to ensure that prices, taxation, and incentive systems take into account the cost of consumption patterns on the environment. General appreciation of nature, and an increase in nature education for children could help, too.
They ended with a positive message, writing: “We can make great progress for the sake of humanity and the planet on which we depend.”
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