Earth is feeling the heat.
For many years, I am sure many of us have heard that if we continue to use unrenewable resources and pollute at the same rate we have been, our earth will suffer. New reports claim that we have not made enough of a difference and that the earth is “Really quite sick.” Scientists have developed eight scientific safety limits that they use to monitor the earth’s health. The eight safety limits are climate, air pollution, phosphorus, and nitrogen contamination of water from fertilizer overuse, groundwater supplies, fresh surface water, the unbuilt natural environment, and the overall natural and human-built environment. Surprisingly the only one that is below the global danger point is air pollution.
The study also found that some continents and countries are in more danger than others. A couple of these hotspots include Eastern Europe, Middle East, South and Southeast Asia. These hotspots might make you believe the problem is not to concern us Canadians because they are so far away, but we are seeing the same results in places like Mexico and the US.
Indy Burke, the dean of the Yale School of the Environment stated, “This is a compelling and provocative paper – scientifically sound in methodology and important for identifying the dimensions in which the planet is nearing the edge of boundaries that would launch us into irreversible states” This quote effectively highlights that we do not want to push the boundaries of these safety limits to the point of no return.
A boundary that has been set for climate change is the 1.5-degree Celsius increase, agreed upon in the 2015 Paris climate agreement. As we approach this figure, scientists reiterate that at the current 1.1 degrees Celsius increase, we can see and experience the devastating effects this increase has. Already we can see tens of millions of people, exposed to extremely high temperatures. As Canadians, although we are not in one of the hotspots, we are not immune to global warming. This is evident through the increase in wildfires in rural Canada for example. Dry, hot conditions are the perfect breeding ground for wildfires to start and spread quickly. Canadians must do their part to reduce their contribution to these 8 safety limits. An effective way to do your part is to adopt green energy into your lives. The Anorra allows consumers to do their part in reducing their environmental footprint while also having reliable green energy.