A plea for this planet!

I feel compelled to ‘bang the drum’!

The recent news that many scientists have signed an open letter warning about how soon it will be too late to “save Earth” has been widely broadcast; not that this stops me from republishing the version of the news story that I read on the EarthSky blog site.

Here it is.

oooooh

Scientists warn: Soon it will be too late to save Earth

By Eleanor Imster in EARTH | HUMAN WORLD | November 16, 2017
More than 15,000 scientists in 184 countries have signed a letter urging the world to address major environmental concerns. “Soon it will be too late to shift course away from our failing trajectory, and time is running out.”

A letter to all of us, signed by more than 15,000 scientists (and counting) in 184 countries, warns that human well-being will be severely jeopardized by continuing trends in environmental harm, including our changing climate, deforestation, loss of access to fresh water, species extinctions and human population growth.

Entitled World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity: A Second Notice, it was published in the international journal Bioscience on November 13, 2017.

In 1992, more than 1,700 scientists signed a World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity published by the Union of Concerned Scientists. But global trends have worsened since 1992, the authors wrote in the new letter. In the last 25 years, trends in nine environmental issues suggest that humanity is continuing to risk its future.

Read the letter here.

The scientists wrote:

Soon it will be too late to shift course away from our failing trajectory, and time is running out. We must recognize, in our day-to-day lives and in our governing institutions, that Earth with all its life is our only home.

The letter also says …

By failing to adequately limit population growth, reassess the role of an economy rooted in growth, reduce greenhouse gases, incentivize renewable energy, protect habitat, restore ecosystems, curb pollution, halt defaunation, and constrain invasive alien species, humanity is not taking the urgent steps needed to safeguard our imperiled biosphere.

The article was written by an international team led by William Ripple of Oregon State University led the international team of scientists who created the letter. Ripple said in a statement:

Some people might be tempted to dismiss this evidence and think we are just being alarmist. Scientists are in the business of analyzing data and looking at the long-term consequences. Those who signed this second warning aren’t just raising a false alarm. They are acknowledging the obvious signs that we are heading down an unsustainable path. We are hoping that our paper will ignite a wide-spread public debate about the global environment and climate.

Progress in some areas — such as a reduction in ozone-depleting chemicals and an increase in energy generated from renewable sources — shows that positive changes can be made, the authors wrote. There has been a rapid decline in fertility rates in some regions, which can be attributed to investments in education for women, they added. The rate of deforestation in some regions has also slowed.

The warning came with steps that can be taken to reverse negative trends, but the authors suggested that it may take a groundswell of public pressure to convince political leaders to take the right corrective actions. Such activities could include establishing more terrestrial and marine reserves, strengthening enforcement of anti-poaching laws and restraints on wildlife trade, expanding family planning and educational programs for women, promoting a dietary shift toward plant-based foods and massively adopting renewable energy and other “green” technologies.

Scientists who did not sign the warning prior to publication can endorse the published warning here.

Bottom line: A letter entitled World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity: A Second Notice, urging the world to address major environmental concerns. was signed by more than 15,000 scientists in 184 countries.

Read more from Oregon State University

ooOOoo

As is the way with this modern inter-connected world it was but a moment to track down said William Ripple, find his email address and ask him what he recommended as the top things that you and I should be doing now.

Not just for you and me but for all the animals as well on this very beautiful planet.

Bill’s reply is part of tomorrow’ post. See you then!

20 thoughts on “A plea for this planet!”

  1. I fully agree with this Paul.
    I see perilous times ahead for all of us. Why other people don’t is hard to determine but whether they see it or not, events will overtake anything that they might see in hindsight.

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  2. Thank you Paul for sharing this.. Indeed we are ALL of us responsible.. But it makes it even harder for those of us who are mindful of our environment, who recycle, and watch what we use, such as areosols, sprays, and chemicals and plastic etc, when governments turn a blind eye themselves.. Here in lies the root cause.. Greed, Profit, and no control over pollution. And who do not care if their oil pipe lines leak into oceans or the Arctic or water supplies.
    How many years have the eco warriors been banging our drum, on deaf ears?? As much as I want to shout it from the roof tops. it is still not going to change how the world works, until we change our consumer habits, and that is most unlikely . Sadly..

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      2. Sue, what came to me when I read your response was this. That I am 73. I have no idea of how many years are left. My wish, my fervent wish, is that my last conscious reflection on my life is that we humans were standing up for this beautiful planet. That the voice of the common people was being heard. My agony is fearing that I will die not knowing this!

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  3. It is a fearful outlook on the future to be sure 😦
    Thanks for sharing, it’s too bad that those in the throes of destroying our planet would never entertain the idea of taking the time to realize that once it’s gone, it’s gone…their millions won’t mean a thing then!

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    2. The Earth as we know it Paul is in constant change.. All we can do is our best, the best we know how, and try to make others aware as we are doing in how we are abusing it..
      If I were to die tomorrow.. given that I know I will continue on… 🙂 I will no doubt in that instant become aware of so much more than Planet Earth.. The Jewel that she is, and my part I played here in our co-existence..
      While Human Beings are destructive, I hope our evolutionary paths hold a course within the continuum of our evolution within our planetary progression. But if not.. Then that also is evolution and our choices have already been locked into the grid so to speak..
      When I look back at geology and see the ice ages, and floods.. etc… We have been going for far longer than science can measure.. So we may as a species be evolving.. who knows..
      But given the beauty of our planet now.. Like you, its a horrendous thought to think of..

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  5. Watching the Domesday Clock tick to midnight or past, makes for more than a world of Worry. Like those nuclear bomb threat drills in grade school, once you have seen a recording of one, no way will you have faith in a desk to save you.

    What goes missing these articles, I see is the planetary cost of war. Armed conflicts ratchet up more & more deadly weapons. Give no thought to the future of the earth.
    I know BiG Agriculture makes a huge amount of carbon, yet who talks about that beyond the survivalists & organic small farmers. Wish I had a solution or at least a direction beyond global spiritual enlightenment, but world peace seems to rest in each human heart. A fragile tender beating so easily changed and imprisoned by conditioning of the Mass Mind.

    Off to finish sharing a humorous dog blog on Dog Leader Mysteries.

    Peace, Deborah

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  6. By the way, Paul, I have a wonderful guest blogger I’m publishing tomorrow. Her name is Cindy Grant. I have taken the liberty, after getting to know her, to send her on to you.

    Do look in tomorrow to read her post.

    Thanks for your friendship, Deborah

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  7. Some of us have known this for decades. Humans are a greedy lot and will keep on grasping and using and tossing rubbish and ignoring all the signs until it Is too late. And so, on we go, Paul – loving each other and our precious dogs. !

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