I talk about it from time to time, and not to be a jinx: the planet, you know, is in pretty bad shape.
But the immense scale of the threats posed by global climate change and human-induced biodiversity loss may be even more serious than humanity realizes, according to an article published in the journal Frontiers in Conservation Science.
An article that is not at all reassuring, indeed: the picture is so dark that, we read, it could herald "a horrible future of mass extinction", even for humanity itself.
A situation that precipitates
“Humanity is causing a rapid loss of biodiversity and, with it, the Earth's ability to support complex life,” he said in a press release Corey Bradshaw, ecologist at Flinders University and lead author of the research. “But the mainstream struggles to grasp the extent of this loss, and this is a drama within the drama.”
Part of the challenge is that the world's political and economic systems are designed to focus on short-term challenges and benefits, the study authors argue. This leads to humanity's long-term problems such as climate change, biodiversity loss and ecological destruction going unaddressed.
Difficult even for the most experienced
“Indeed, the scale of the threats to the biosphere and all its life forms is so great that it is difficult for even well-informed experts to grasp,” Bradshaw says in the release.
The problem is compounded by ignorance and short-term self-interest, with the pursuit of wealth and political interests hindering actions crucial to survival
Corey Bradshaw
“Most economies operate on the basis that enforcement action is now too costly to be politically palatable,” he added Paul Ehrlich, study co-author and biologist at Stanford University. “Combined with disinformation campaigns to protect short-term profits, it is by no means certain that the scale of changes we need will be made in time.”
A brutal synthesis? Humanity is running an ecological Ponzi scheme in which society robs nature today and future generations for short-term economic gains.
The paper is “scary”: it is a question of life and death for humanity.
“What we're saying may not be popular, and in fact it's scary,” one of the co-authors said. “But we must be frank, precise and honest if humanity is to understand the enormity of the challenges we face in creating a sustainable future.”
