Two-thirds of world's resources 'used up'

The Guardian ^ | March 30, 2005 | Tim Radford

[jmaroneps37]

Two-thirds of world's resources 'used up'

Tim Radford, science editor Wednesday March 30, 2005 The Guardian

The human race is living beyond its means. A report backed by 1,360 scientists from 95 countries - some of them world leaders in their fields - today warns that the almost two-thirds of the natural machinery that supports life on Earth is being degraded by human pressure. The study contains what its authors call "a stark warning" for the entire world. The wetlands, forests, savannahs, estuaries, coastal fisheries and other habitats that recycle air, water and nutrients for all living creatures are being irretrievably damaged. In effect, one species is now a hazard to the other 10 million or so on the planet, and to itself.

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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Human activity is putting such a strain on the natural functions of Earth that the ability of the planet's ecosystems to sustain future generations can no longer be taken for granted," it says. The report, prepared in Washington under the supervision of a board chaired by Robert Watson, the British-born chief scientist at the World Bank and a former scientific adviser to the White House, will be launched today at the Royal Society in London. It warns that:

· Because of human demand for food, fresh water, timber, fibre and fuel, more land has been claimed for agriculture in the last 60 years than in the 18th and 19th centuries combined.

· An estimated 24% of the Earth's land surface is now cultivated.

· Water withdrawals from lakes and rivers has doubled in the last 40 years. Humans now use between 40% and 50% of all available freshwater running off the land.

· At least a quarter of all fish stocks are overharvested. In some areas, the catch is now less than a hundredth of that before industrial fishing.

· Since 1980, about 35% of mangroves have been lost, 20% of the world's coral reefs have been destroyed and another 20% badly degraded.

· Deforestation and other changes could increase the risks of malaria and cholera, and open the way for new and so far unknown disease to emerge.

In 1997, a team of biologists and economists tried to put a value on the "business services" provided by nature - the free pollination of crops, the air conditioning provided by wild plants, the recycling of nutrients by the oceans. They came up with an estimate of $33 trillion, almost twice the global gross national product for that year. But after what today's report, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, calls "an unprecedented period of spending Earth's natural bounty" it was time to check the accounts.

"That is what this assessment has done, and it is a sobering statement with much more red than black on the balance sheet," the scientists warn. "In many cases, it is literally a matter of living on borrowed time. By using up supplies of fresh groundwater faster than they can be recharged, for example, we are depleting assets at the expense of our children."

Flow from rivers has been reduced dramatically. For parts of the year, the Yellow River in China, the Nile in Africa and the Colorado in North America dry up before they reach the ocean. An estimated 90% of the total weight of the ocean's large predators - tuna, swordfish and sharks - has disappeared in recent years. An estimated 12% of bird species, 25% of mammals and more than 30% of all amphibians are threatened with extinction within the next century. Some of them are threatened by invaders.

The Baltic Sea is now home to 100 creatures from other parts of the world, a third of them native to the Great Lakes of America. Conversely, a third of the 170 alien species in the Great Lakes are originally from the Baltic.

Invaders can make dramatic changes: the arrival of the American comb jellyfish in the Black Sea led to the destruction of 26 commercially important stocks of fish. Global warming and climate change, could make it increasingly difficult for surviving species to adapt.

A growing proportion of the world lives in cities, exploiting advanced technology. But nature, the scientists warn, is not something to be enjoyed at the weekend. Conservation of natural spaces is not just a luxury.

"These are dangerous illusions that ignore the vast benefits of nature to the lives of 6 billion people on the planet. We may have distanced ourselves from nature, but we rely completely on the services it delivers."

[TMD]

Time to consider joining the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement (I kid you not.....)

From their home page... http://www.vhemt.org/

"Phasing out the human race by voluntarily ceasing to breed will allow Earth's biosphere to return to good health. Crowded conditions and resource shortages will improve as we become less dense."

I guess it all depends on what they mean by "as we become less dense"

Words fail me.....

[Uncle Miltie]

Paging Julian Simon. Mr. Simon, please answer your Halo-Page.

[Holicheese]

That was one of my favorite shows as a kid.
Now you see the same people who said we were heading into a new ice age say that we are heading into global warming.

[Uncle Miltie]

"Humans now use between 40% and 50% of all available freshwater running off the land. "

In Fargo, we use about 10% of the Red River. When it's done flowing through our sewers, it is returned to the River CLEANER than when it came in.

Yup. We "use" our 10%, but the water is better for it.

[DoctorMichael]

My suggestion is...........

I agree.

[antceecee]

I seem to remember my kids elementary school class going over the fact that the earth has the exact same amount of water that it always has had. It recycles naturally. I remember this because she was amazed by the fact that the same water resources that were here in the times of dinosaurs were here today. I may be simplifying this, but I do remember her class studying it.

[blues_guitarist]

Two-thirds of world's resources 'used up'

"Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha!

[superiorslots]

Thae article says nothing about global warming or an ice age. It just says we are using more than what nature can replenish.

[ozzymandus]

"Doomed, I tells ya!"--Homer Simpson

[superiorslots]

Yes, we have the same amount of water but not necesarily as clean.

[SuziQ]

I'd be curious to know how they can possible prove this.

[Graycliff]

Could have went all day without hearing that. Thanks
Thought that last cup of coffee had a whang to it. Yuck

[biblewonk]

So the world is 1/3 full! Party-on.

[superiorslots]

Quote: In Fargo, we use about 10% of the Red River. When it's done flowing through our sewers, it is returned to the River CLEANER than when it came in. Yup. We "use" our 10%, but the water is better for it.

Yes the water is getting cleaner in the US but in the 3rd world countries it's getting worse by the day because they do not treat their wastewater. The article is not about the US only.

[Mark17]

What a perfect solution euthanasia will be. Look at all the problems it will solve. [note sarcasm]

Well, I think that is one of the solutions these dirt bags have in mind, whether they will even say it or not, you know they are thinking it. What nerds these people are.

[Holicheese]

Please note that I was talking about the show "In Search of" starring Lenord Nimoy not the article.

[Graycliff]

They failed to say that 60% of that 24% is federally subsidized.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

"Shouldn't the Mississippi be a lot smaller?"

Excellent point, DannyTN! When you look at it that way, The Great Lakes should all have been drained by now. Just think of how much water Chicago uses from Lake Michigan on any given day. Millions of gallons.

[ml1954]

A report backed by 1,360 scientists from 95 countries.

That's about 15 scientists per country that 'back' this so-called report. How many scientists are there in the US? Russia? China? Europe? India?, etc.

You could probably find 15 scientists from each of 95 countries to 'back' almost any report, one way or another, especially if they are ideologically so inclined.

[riri]

Here is my real, honest thought on this.

Who really gives a rat's ass if we use 100 percent of every resource? Really. What is the worst that can happen? We all starve to death and humans cease to exist. Who cares if it happens 100 years from now or 2,000 years from now? What difference does it make?

Now, if we are allowed to continue to create and innovate--this will probably never, ever happen. But, if we let these moon bats dictate our policy it is sure to happen.