via IGBP
A decade on, IGBP in collaboration with the Stockholm Resilience Centre has reassessed and updated the Great Acceleration indicators, first published in the IGBP synthesis, Global Change and the Earth System in 2004.
Human activity, predominantly the global economic system, is now the prime driver of change in the Earth System (the sum of our planet’s interacting physical, chemical, biological and human processes), according to a set of 24 global indicators, or “planetary dashboard”, published in the journal Anthropocene Review (16 January 2015).
The research charts the “Great Acceleration” in human activity from the start of the industrial revolution in 1750 to 2010, and the subsequent changes in the Earth System – greenhouse gas levels, ocean acidification, deforestation and biodiversity deterioration.
“It is difficult to overestimate the scale and speed of change. In a single lifetime humanity has become a planetary-scale geological force,” says lead author Professor Will Steffen, who led the joint project between the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) and the Stockholm Resilience Centre.
Twelve indicators depict human activity, for example, economic growth (GDP), population, foreign direct investment, energy consumption, telecommunications, transportation and water use. Twelve indicators show changes in major environmental components of the Earth System, for example, the carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle and biodiversity. This new “planetary dashboard” highlights how the trajectories of Earth and human development are now lightly bound. The findings will be presented at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, 21-24 January.
“When we first aggregated these datasets, we expected to see major changes but what surprised us was the timing. Almost all graphs show the same pattern. The most dramatic shifts have occurred since 1950. We can say that around 1950 was the start of the Great Acceleration,” said Professor Steffen, a researcher at the Australian National University and the Stockholm Resilience Centre.
“After 1950 you can see that major Earth System changes became directly linked to changes largely related to the global economic system. This is a new phenomenon and indicates that humanity has a new responsibility at a global level for the planet,” he added.
Read more: Planetary dashboard shows “Great Acceleration” in human activity since 1950
The Latest on: Planetary dashboard
via Google News
The Latest on: Planetary dashboard
- The New Solar Roof That Is Half The Price Of Tesla’son January 10, 2022 at 9:41 pm
“On the other hand, a traditional solar system for this size will include around 25 solar panels, meaning 25 connections.” And then there’s the fact that all those little shingles are ...
- NASA warns at least FIVE asteroids are heading toward Earth in January and one is the size of Big Benon January 3, 2022 at 7:24 am
A NASA report has warned that at least five asteroids are approaching near Earth this January – and one is the size of a large building. The report was published by the Jet Propulsion ...
- What Is Mercury Retrograde, And How Can I Profit From It?on January 1, 2022 at 4:00 pm
All the planets in the Solar System travel around the Sun in nice regular round orbits. They never actually stop and back up or decide to go the other way. But from our perspective on Earth ...
- Astronomers spot up to 170 giant rogue planets floating through spaceon December 28, 2021 at 5:22 am
Nearly 200 giant planets have been spotted moving aimlessly through space, according to a remarkable discovery by astronomers. Researchers from the European S ...
- Hubble’s annual solar system portraits are inon December 27, 2021 at 7:06 am
The Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy program continues with a whole new round of solar system close-ups. More in Watch Now: The most memorable robots of 2021, and more of today's top videos (6 of 7 ...
- Track The James Webb Space Telescope In Real Time As It Explores Our Solar Systemon December 27, 2021 at 5:10 am
Now that the James Webb Telescope has successfully left Earth to go make all kinds of cool discoveries, we can track its progress in real-time with a nifty dashboard showing its progress as it ...
- NASA's most powerful space telescope ready to launch. When and where to watchon December 25, 2021 at 3:18 am
The technology will study every phase of cosmic history — from within solar system to the most distant observable galaxies in the early universe. Webb’s infrared telescope will explore a wide ...
- This $10 billion space telescope will reveal the secrets of the universeon December 23, 2021 at 9:24 pm
In addition to investigating the wealth of planets outside of our solar system, the observatory will peer back to some of the earliest galaxies that formed after the Big Bang and the very ...
- First full asteroid return sample confirms early Solar System originson December 21, 2021 at 7:01 am
The team knew Ryugu would be a common, carbon-rich C-type asteroid, but that still makes it a good peek at the ingredients of the early Solar System. The sampling indicates Ryugu has a ...
- A new green CWIP: Solar system “benefits"?on December 16, 2021 at 3:59 pm
Construction Work in Progress (CWIP) was the four-letter acronym that once drove to outrage the anti-nuke set in New Hampshire. It was a utility’s way of having its ratepayers help pay for the ...
via Bing News
