How to survive on an isolated planet

In relation to our article The Earth is sick – and getting sicker

Chris Young, Surrey Hills, Vic, Oct 4, 2024

We inhabit an isolated planet with finite resources and a robust, but not indestructible, environment. The fact that our environment continues to support life today does not mean that it always will. The Potsdam Institute’s latest Planetary Health Check confirms we are endangering our survival with our disregard for our warming climate, for the mass extinction of animals and plants, for our continued degradation of the natural environment and freshwater cycles, and for the chemical pollution from soil-killing fertilisers and industrial process effluents.

Of the nine measures that the Potsdam Institute tracks, only two remain within the ‘safe’ zone: those which relate to the health of the ozone layer. This was in peril forty years ago, being destroyed by CFCs. The consequences of its loss were accepted, and global agreement was reached in the Montreal Protocol of 1987 to phase out CFCs. The world accepted the science, acted to address the risk, and that threat has abated.
Our challenge now is greater than aerosol use. Resolution requires concerted efforts from governments, and lifestyle changes for many. As Julian Cribb observes, we are all contributing to the current crisis; so we must all contribute to its resolution. Nothing less will suffice.