Damage to planet ‘dire’ says UN report

| 14/03/2019 | 15 Comments

Cayman News Service(CNS): A dangerous combination of climate change, pollution, mass extinctions and a growing human population are described in the latest disturbing report from the United Nations, as world leaders met in Kenya for the 4th Environmental Assembly this week. The report states that “damage to the planet is so dire that people’s health will be increasingly threatened unless urgent action is taken”. Around 25% of all premature deaths and diseases around the world are due to human-caused environmental damage and pollution, the authors write.

Each year, air pollution kills seven million people worldwide and costs society about $5 trillion. Another 1.4 million are killed because of water pollution.

The report, the sixth Global Environment Outlook from the UN Environment Programme, was written by 250 scientists and experts from more than 70 countries. It makes some stark conclusions, stating that “unsustainable human activities globally have degraded the Earth’s ecosystems, endangering the ecological foundations of society”.

The report shows that the overall environmental situation is deteriorating globally and the window for action is closing.

“Unsustainable production and consumption patterns and trends as well as inequality, combined with population growth-driven increase in resource use, put at risk the healthy planet needed to attain sustainable development. These trends are deteriorating planetary health at unprecedented rates, with increasingly serious consequences, especially for poorer people and regions,” the report found.

Among the many worrying conclusions is the issue of biodiversity loss, which is caused by land-use change, habitat fragmentation, over-exploitation, illegal wildlife trade, invasive species and pollution. The experts said that climate change is driving a mass extinction of species, including critical ecosystem service providers such as pollinators.

“This mass extinction compromises Earth’s ecological integrity and capacity to meet human needs,” the report states. “Marine plastic litter, including microplastics, occurs in all levels of the marine ecosystem and also shows up in fisheries and shellfish at alarming levels and frequency. The adverse impact of marine microplastic on the marine system is unknown, with potential health impacts through the consumption of fish and marine products.”

Described as the most comprehensive and rigorous assessment on the state of the environment by the UN in the last five years, the report warns that governments must drastically scale up environmental protections, or cities and regions in Asia, the Middle East and Africa could see millions of premature deaths by mid-century.

It also warns that pollutants in our freshwater systems will see anti-microbial resistance become a major cause of death by 2050 and endocrine disruptors impact male and female fertility, as well as child neuro-development.

“The science is clear. The health and prosperity of humanity is directly tied with the state of our environment,” said Joyce Msuya, Acting Executive Director of UN Environment, in a press release.

“This report is an outlook for humanity. We are at a crossroads. Do we continue on our current path, which will lead to a bleak future for humankind, or do we pivot to a more sustainable development pathway? That is the choice our political leaders must make, now,” she added.

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Category: Land Habitat, Marine Environment, Science & Nature

Comments (15)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Let’s tax the volcanos

  2. Anonymous says:

    There are actually no such things as planets… A word derived from our true home, a plane.

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  3. Anonymous says:

    Try watching one strange rock on Netflix all you climate deniers. You obviously don’t get it.

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  4. Anonymous says:

    These temperature records only start in 1880. In Roman times, the temperature was warmer than today. Grapes were grown in England by the Romans. Clearly, the temperature profile of the planet goes up and down over the centuries in a natural manner.

    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/veni-vidi-viticulture-remains-of-roman-vineyards-found-in-uk-738723.html

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2171973/Tree-ring-study-proves-climate-WARMER-Roman-Medieval-times-modern-industrial-age.html

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  5. Anonymous says:

    More proof that the education system in CI has failed.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Precisely right, starting with critical thinking. Now students are taught to swallow leftist thought police approved worldviews without any objections whatsoever or be labeled as some phobic or denier of some sort.

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  6. Anonymous says:

    Yes let’s listen to the global warming deniers. They’ll be long dead when the environment collapses and won’t have to worry about the shame of their actions. Bless them, I hope they’re reincarnated.

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  7. Anonymous says:

    pure greed going destroy humanity…sad

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  8. Anonymous says:

    Look at all the black smoke in the picture! Man-Made Global Warming MUST be real!!

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  9. Anonymous says:

    Hear that?? “Dire!”, “Mass extinction!”, “The science is clear!”

    Be afraid… be VERY afraid! Now pay your global carbon taxes

    Small print:

    The entire premise of human caused global warming is precisely NOT _scientific_ as NONE of it’s findings nor do ANY of their hypothesis meets the scientific model, which is why its a “consensus” of “opinions”…. of extremely well funded groups of “scientists” all paid for by government tax dollars (primarily by the hundreds of billions generated in global carbon taxes).

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    • Smh says:

      1) you are misinformed.
      2) your sensationalistic tone undercuts your general message which already is lacking in validity.

      Our way of life is not sustainable. We have to adjust our behavior.

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      • Anonymous says:

        Please explain in scientific details with measurements exactly how our behaviour should be changed to make a measurable difference to the global climate.

        Or are you just spewing more meaningless feel-good/im more enlightened than you bullshit platitudes?

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