Introduction
The planet we call our own has a long history of 4.5 million years, during which the presence of hominids dates to only 3 million years ago. The Earth was formed over a period of millions of years and continued to change even afterwards; initially with the formation of the oceans and continental crust and later with the first forms of life, it changed appearance and experienced the birth and extinction of innumerable species. It was the human species, however, that contributed the most to the transformation of the planet’s environment, for better and for worse. Agriculture changed the landscape, increasingly larger cities grew where once there were only forests and marshlands, dykes and canals used to irrigate fields diverted the flow of rivers, roads and railroads cut through territories changing their physiognomy and even the skies and the seas were traversed by routes used to transport people and merchandise. This has always been the case and we still admire the evidence left behind: the majestic monuments created by ancient civilizations such as the Egyptians, the Aztecs and the Mayans, terraced landscapes in harmony with nature on hillsides and mountainsides, protected natural parks where there were once only swamps. Humans have spread to every part of the planet except the Antarctic and the bottom of the sea, adapting to climate and environmental conditions, creating settlements on the sides of volcanoes and in the great rainforests, surviving the rigid conditions of the Arctic and even learning how to live in inhospitable environments like the desert. However, there is a limit to expanding and exploiting natural resources to improve one’s own life conditions. As with every species, the determining factor is demographic growth, which has gained enormous speed over the last two centuries. We reached a total population of 7.8 billion at the beginning of 2020 and an increase of 1 billion individuals every decade is predicted for the near future. This signifies a higher demand for water, food, living space, energy and dignified living conditions. This is in addition to the effects of the industrial revolution
• Iguazú Falls, Argentina/Brazil
INFOGRAPHIC
EARTH
Changes in the land biosphere since 1970 are consistent with global warming: climate zones have shifted poleward in both hemispheres, and the growing season has on average lengthened by up to two days per decade since the 1950s in the Northern Hemisphere extratropics.
CLIMATE ZONES have shifted poleward since the 1970s.
Global average precipitation over land has likely increased since 1950, with a faster rate of increase since the 1980s.
WARMING of the open ocean surface since the 1970s.
It is virtually certain that the global upper ocean 0–2,300 feet (0-700 m) has warmed since the 1970s and that human-caused CO2 emissions are the main driver of current global acidification of the open ocean surface.
The likely range of total human-caused global surface temperature increase from 1850–1900 to 2010–2019 is 1.4°F (.8°C) to 2.3°F (1.3°C), with a best estimate of 1.93°F (1.07°C).
Human influence is very likely the main driver of the global retreat of glaciers since the 1990s and the decrease in Arctic sea ice area since 1980.
SEA LEVEL RISE between 1901 and 2018 was .66 feet (.20 m).
Sea level increased by .66 feet (.20 m) between 1901 and 2018. The average rate of sea level rise was .05 inch (1.3 mm) per year between 1901 and 1971. It increased to .07 inch (1.9 mm) per year between 1971 and 2006, and to .15 inch (3.7 mm) between 2006 and 2018.
Source: The Intergovernmental Panel
Climate change is destroying our path to sustainability. Ours is a world of looming challenges and increasingly limited resources. Sustainable development offers the best chance to adjust our course.
|
Ban Ki-moon
• Calanque de Morgiou, Provence, France
When future generations judge those who came before them on environmental issues, they may conclude “they didn’t know”: let us not go down in history as the generations who knew, but didn’t care.
| Mikhail Gorbachev
• Cala Pregonda, Menorca, Balearic Islands, Spain
Both degradation and desertification are the most critical environmental issues of our time. They are linked to food security, poverty, urbanization, climate change and biodiversity loss.
| Edna Molewa
• The Wave, Vermillion Cliffs, Arizona (USA)
Our globe is under new dramatic environmental pressure: our globe is warming, our ice caps melting, our glaciers receding, our coral is dying, our soils are eroding, our water tables falling, our fisheries are being depleted, our remaining rainforests shrinking. Something is very, very wrong with our ecosystem.
| Richard Lamm
• Iceberg, Pleneau Bay, Antarctica
For many of us, water simply flows from a faucet, and we think little about it beyond this point of contact. We have lost a sense of respect for the wild river, for the complex workings of a wetland, for the intricate web of life that water supports.
| Sandra Postel
• Yangtze River, China
The environment and the economy are really both two sides of the same coin. If we cannot sustain the environment, we cannot sustain ourselves.
| Wangari Maathai
