Better Get Your Act Together

[ChuckMajik]

A new UN report says 60% of the earths ecosystems are at risk of collapsing.

Article courtesy of the CBC.

UNITED NATIONS - A new United Nations report says we are using up our natural resources too fast and are in danger of destroying about two-thirds of the Earth's ecosystems.

The Millennium Assessment, released Wednesday, warns that 15 of 24 global ecosystems are in decline and that the harmful consequences of this degradation could grow much worse in the next 50 years.

The UN study is a synthesis of the work of about 1,300 researchers from 95 countries. It is being hailed as the most comprehensive survey ever into the natural systems that sustain life on Earth.

UN Undersecretary Hans van Ginkel says the assessment reveals a consensus among the world's social and natural scientists.

"It's not yet extreme, it's not exactly immediate collapse, but we better act before the collapse is there," he said.

The study warns of the emergence of new diseases, sudden changes in water quality, creation of coastal "dead zones," the collapse of fisheries and shifts in regional climate.

It says the way we have obtained our food, fresh water, wood, fibre and fuel over the past 50 years has dangerously degraded the environment. It also warns that we have compromised our ability to address hunger, poverty and improve health care.

Researchers explain that a population boom after the Second World War created an unsustainable rush for natural resources.

For example, more land has been converted to agriculture since 1945 than in the 18th and 19th centuries combined. In fact, the lack of trees and bushes in some areas has significantly reduced protection from disasters like tsunamis and floods.

And in some heavily populated areas, a lack of farming knowledge is turning normally fertile land into deserts.

Things are no better in our oceans and lakes. Fish stocks have dropped to one-tenth of their levels before industrial fishing began.

Over the next 100 years, 32 per cent of fish, 12 per cent of birds, 25 per cent of mammals could be extinct.

The study's co-chair, Malaysian biologist A.H. Zakri, called on Asian nations to take special note of the report.

"Much of what is in the report relates strongly to Asia. But at the same time, it's not easy to come up with a 'one fits all' solution because almost all the diversity of the world is present in that one continent," said Zakri.

The 2,500-page report is aimed at changing the way we use our resources. It raises hope that better education, new technologies and higher prices for exploiting ecosystems could help slow the damage.

[chomp_rock]

Tell me something I didn't know, most people are wasteful and indifferent towards the environment. The earth would be much better off without us.

[Mozz]

Problem is no one thinks their contribution can make a difference to the big world we live in, seeing it as small and insignificant, whereas we can only make a difference if everyone does their bit and we work together - then we can bring about a significant change. That and Kyoto...j/k

[beaky]

Each person contributes in their small way to the destruction, so it stands to reason that it'd work the other way, too...

[commoner]

....mmm...too many of us here now and that situation will get worse...........only chance for the human race is to start over,  with a few survivors maybe from the inevitable catastrophic event which will come sooner rather than later........

..Won't be the end of things...just a new beginning.....remember the catastrophic event in the rabbit population when "we" in our wisdom introduced myxomatosis?........a few survived and there are now more than ever..............

 "Destroying the Earth"...is the cry.........rubbish! The Earth doesn't need us and will be here millions of years after we are gone...............commoner

[Mozz]

Yeah, isn't there a saying : "Don't go around saying the world owes you a living; the world owes you nothing; it was here first" - Mark Twain.

[Hagar]

I'm not sure that much can be done about the environment. Yes, every little helps but unless everyone does it seriously you're wasting your time. I can't see third world countries being too impressed & they could quite rightly say they're only doing what the more "advanced" countries did many years ago. Others might well say it affects their economy & puts people out of work. It's a very complex issue & I'm not convinced that it wouldn't have happened naturally anyway

I find the shortage of food & natural resources more worrying. It seems obvious to me that you can't keep taking things out without causing an eventual shortage. What happens when it's all gone? Intensive farming methods & harvesting are the cause of many of these problems. I have to wonder if it's all necessary & a return to traditional methods might be best. So what if I can't have strawberries or tomatoes all the year round. I can always eat something else that's in season. That's how it used to be not so many years ago. When I hear what some of the produce is actually used for it makes me weep.

[ATI_7500]

Let the world fall down. Maybe we'll see then what we've created with our egocentric and greedy attitude.
I wouldn't pity the death of the human race. I only pity nature, which has to suffer under our terrible reign.

[chomp_rock]

ATI, I like the way you think!

[ATI_7500]

So you'll be partying too on the last day of humanity?

[Mozz]

With the last few supplies of beer and peanuts left  ;)...

[Smoke2much]

Myxomatosis

Baby rabbits with eyes full of pus
Is the work of scientific us.

Spike Milligan

[Mozz]

Like the sig chomp  ;)

[beaky]

I'm as cynical as the next guy most of the time, but to use a hackneyed old phrase, putting yourself above it all rather than trying to use some of that superior insight to try to help makes you "part of the problem". It's a cop-out. I'm certainly not an environmental activist, but I just can't bring myself to think "eh, screw it, we're doomed and it ain't my fault". I try to at least take care of the little things that help... not being so wasteful.
It may be a hopeless battle, but it's worth fighting. The most disturbing thing about our shortsighted resource management is that  long before the oil runs out (as one example), the current disturbances  in civilization will be amplified many times over. Even if things do turn around in terms of energy production and land use, things are going to get more chaotic before they get better.
 Pitying Nature is a waste of time- Nature will most likely recover from us-  just might have to get rid of us in order to do it. I've adopted the attitude that we need to fight this fight for us, not for some sentimentalized view of an orderly, pristine "natural world".  It certainly makes for a more useful arguing position with people who think being concerned about the environment means you care more about trees and owls than you do about people.   We're part of that system, that's why we're endangering ourselves by pretending we're not.

[Hagar]

I've thought for a long time that the human race will be responsible for wiping itself out. This might happen within a short time or take 1,000 years but I think it's inevitable. I'll give you some examples to explain my cynicism but believe me there are many more.

Some years ago our local council operated a recycling system which had won national awards. The dust carts were fitted with trailers for things like newspapers. plastic & other recyclable materials. I felt strongly about conservation so started separating all my rubbish & was very particular about it. One day I happened to see the dustmen arrive without the trailer. On enquiring what I should do with my recyclable stuff I was told to throw it in the back of the cart as it all got mixed up when they got back to base anyway. Needless to say I then realised I was wasting my time. When the system had been working properly I was told they had a huge pile of newspapers back at the yard that nobody wanted so they would probably end up burning it. Unless people take this seriously & everyone does it this will never work.

I believe that one major natural disaster like the Mt St Helens eruption a few years ago can do more damage to our environment than we could do in many years. What about similar unnatural disasters? I've read that there's only been one day since the end of WWII that there hasn't been conflict going on somewhere in this world. People involved in a war are not concerned with the environment & I expect we're still suffering from the massive amount of pollution caused by explosives & other military junk during WWII. One sea mine or torpedo exploding in the ocean could kill every single life-form within thousands of yards. Some of the vast amount of munitions dumped in the sea after the war have yet to release their noxious substances. I'm all for conservation but my little efforts pale into insignificance compared with all this.