In exhausting the earth’s capacities, we are pushing the earth's restoring abilities and resources to its limits. But where exactly are these limits? The concept of 'Planetary Boundaries' defines and explains those limits.
What are our planet’s boundaries?
What can our planet withstand, and when is the limit reached? From deforestation and depletion of non-renewable resources and waste production to air pollution, we negatively impact our world in many ways.
When we talk about ‘planetary boundaries’, we mean ecological boundaries, the earth's capacity limits to deal with and balance human activity's impacts.
What ARE THE EARTH’S LIMITS TO RESTORE & REGENERATE?
We are exceeding the limit of finite resources and generating a massive and uncontrolled input of substances. That means, for example:
We consume too much/ overconsume. We are consuming resources that the earth itself cannot produce again or can only produce again far too slowly compared to the rate of our consumption and demand, such as coal or wood.
Through our consumption, we generate an input of, e.g. substances that the earth can neither eliminate itself nor do we have a plan for how to eradicate this input.
This drives the earth to its limits/boundaries to deal with the outcomes of our activities.
If these boundaries are exceeded, the earth's ecosystem may collapse. Ultimately, this means that the livelihood of humanity is at stake. The climate and the climate crisis are only one aspect of this problem.
USE OF NATURAL RESOURCES
The negative impacts of what we consume and how much we consume are countless regarding the number of natural resources and anthropogenic chemical inputs behind a single consumption decision.
Here are some examples:
FORESTS
Every year, we destroy 10 million hectares of forests. Overall, human impacts destroyed 40% of forests to this point. The largest driver for deforestation is agriculture.
The impacts are far-reaching as forests are home to almost half the species to land and 1 billion people. Between 1970 and 2014, the forest-dwelling wildlife populations declined by 53%; these losses have occurred mostly in the tropical forests such as the Amazon rainforests (WWF, 2019). Moreover, forests are important for CO2 storage. As an example, in 2018, the forests captured 37.1 billion tons of carbon emissions, which corresponds to approximately ⅓ of the annual carbon emissions (Cross, 2019).
FRESHWATER
The resource of fresh water is facing a crisis. Since 1900, two-thirds of all-natural wetlands have been destroyed. Consequently, the population of freshwater animals has declined by more than three-quarters since 1970,
One-third of freshwater species are threatened with extinction and two-thirds of the global population faces water shortages for at least one month every year. By 2030, almost half of the world’s population will face severe water scarcity (WWF, 2017).
OCEANS
Likewise, our consumption behaviour has an impact on the world’s oceans. There is an estimated $ 2.5 trillion annual value in the ocean economy, but many crucial fish stocks are close to the point of collapse, and half of the coral reefs and mangroves are already destroyed. This again threatens other species such as seabirds, turtles and dolphins. Moreover, it is an imminent threat to people’s livelihoods and food security (Hoegh-Guldberg, O. et al., 2015).
BIODIVERSITY
Our consumption and the overall socio-economic development have an immense impact on biodiversity. Nearly 1 million animal and plant species are on the brink of extinction (UN, 2019). Local varieties and breeds of domesticated plants and animals are disappearing as fewer and fewer different plants and animals are being cultivated, raised and maintained. This undermines the resilience of the agricultural system to threats like pests and climate change and thereby poses a risk to global food security.
ANTHROPOGENIC CHEMICAL INPUTS
We are adding substances and materials to our environment without a long term plan on how to offset or remove them. For instance, yearly, between 300-400 millions tons of metals, solvents, and other substances are being thrown into the world’s waters (UN, 2019). Various chemical inputs not only harm the environment but can also have implications on our health. Here are some examples of chemical inputs that represent a major threat for the planet, and consequently, livelihood:
FERTILISER
Anthropogenic chemical and other inputs and their impacts (European Environment Agency, 2020)
We fertilise our fields without considering their delicate ecological balance, which is important for the long-term fertility of our soil. And while nitrogen, one of the main components in fertilisers, is essential for a prosperous life, it becomes a dangerous pollutant if used excessively, poisoning water bodies, plants as well as animals and humans. Fertilisers entering freshwater and coastal ecosystems have devastating effects like algal blooms or ‘dead zones’ of aquatic life, such as in the Gulf of Mexico.
WASTE
We produce waste without having a realistic plan for getting rid of it.
→ By 2030 the world is expected to generate 2.59 billion tonnes of waste each year. By 2050 it likely will be 3.40 billion tonnes.
→ Globally, about 37% of waste is being disposed of in some type of landfill, 33% is openly dumped, 19% goes through material recovery through recycling or composting and 11% is treated through modern incineration.
→ Untreated urban and rural waste, pollutants from industrial, agricultural and mining activities, greenhouse gas emissions, oil spills and toxic dumping have taken strong negative effects on the global atmosphere, on soil and on freshwater and marine water quality.
→ Especially marine plastic pollution has increased since 1980, affecting many species in the seas. Moreover, pollution can affect humans through food chains.
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
We produce dangerous materials such as radioactive materials in large quantities without having a plan of how to manage nuclear waste. Consequently, such waste material is being accumulated in temporary storage but not disposed of and becomes a problem for future generations, posing risks to the environment and human health.
Waste production (IMPEL, 2018)
HOW TO MEASURE THE PLANETARY BOUNDARIES?
To apply the 'planetary boundaries' concept, these boundaries must be precisely defined to be measurable. Only if we know which critical values must not be exceeded can this be compared with the status quo to derive recommendations for action.
As an example, the following stress situations can already be observed in the environment as planetary boundaries:
Climate changes and decrease in forest areas due to the extraction of too many resources.
Aerosol content of the earth's atmosphere.
Decrease in Biodiversity →, disrupting nutrient cycles.
Freshwater use, ocean acidification and stratospheric ozone loss.
The extent to which humanity is still in a safe space for action or has already left it cannot be reliably said for all these issues. About the aerosol content of the earth's atmosphere, this is partly because science can hardly predict how the earth's atmosphere will react to various substances emitted by industry, for example.
WHAT CAN WE DO TO ENSURE WE CONSUME WITHIN OUR PLANETARY BOUNDARIES?
We need to consume more prescient, wisely, eco-friendly, and sustainable.
Immediate measures can be implemented daily. Just get started on your journey somewhere with small steps instead of waiting to make the big change.
We support you in this way.
Here is the How To Become A Considerate Consumer in 6 Easy Steps →.
To help you get an idea of what we are talking about, here is an example from our Food Section:
Reduce your food waste: This can be done, for example, by sharing your food with others, shopping more consciously, or discovering new recipes.
For example, Make a pesto from the greens of carrots and radishes.Limit your consumption of fish, meat, and dairy: If you can't go completely vegan, you can still contribute by avoiding meat, for example, during the week.
Eat more local foods: Shorter transport routes go hand in hand with lower pollutant emissions.
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