28 Oct 2023 – Humanity Is Close To Multiple Environmental Tipping Points

Alex Knapp, Forbes Staff

Oct 28, 2023,08:00am EDT
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On Wednesday, United Nations researchers warned that humanity is moving “perilously close to the brink” of multiple environmental tipping points that could be disastrous to both people and the environment. Their report identifies six key risks that the world should aim to avoid. The first is the number of plant and animal extinctions, which has been accelerating due to human activity and could result in the collapse of entire ecosystems. Groundwater is another major issue – the report finds that about half the world’s largest underground reservoirs are being depleted at a faster rate than they’re replenished. The good news is that several of these tipping points are interrelated, so action to stave off one also helps to ameliorate others.

“As we indiscriminately extract our water resources, damage nature and biodiversity, and pollute both Earth and space, we are moving dangerously close to the brink of multiple risk tipping points that could destroy the very systems that our life depends on,” said Zita Sebesvari, lead author of the report and deputy director of UN University’s Institute for Environment and Human Security. “We also lose some of our tools and options to deal with future disaster risk.

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