Strains on Nature Are Growing, Report Says

~ FmH
“Humans are damaging the planet at a rapid rate and raising risks of abrupt collapses in nature that could spur disease, deforestation or ‘dead zones’ in the seas, an international report said Wednesday.

The study, by 1,360 researchers in 95 nations, the biggest review of the planet’s life support systems ever, said that in the last 50 years a rising human population had polluted or overexploited two-thirds of the ecological systems on which life depends, including clean air and fresh water. ‘At the heart of this assessment is a stark warning,’ said the 45-member board of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. ‘Human activity is putting such strain on the natural functions of earth that the ability of the planet’s ecosystems to sustain future generations can no longer be taken for granted.'” (New York Times )