Earth Has Overshot Key ‘Planetary Boundaries,’ Scientists Warn - Bloomberg

Pushing the planet beyond its safe limits erodes food, energy and water security and raises the risk of disease and conflict, researchers say.

Human activity is imperiling eight of the planet’s critical life-support systems and seven of them have already passed into a danger zone, according to a massive review of Earth science conducted jointly by more than 60 researchers and published Wednesday in The Lancet Planetary Health.

Looking at necessities of a livable Earth — including the climate, freshwater systems, biodiversity and soil nutrients — the researchers find almost all have crossed crucial thresholds. The only global system yet to breach safe limits is aerosols, even as small-particle air pollution contributes to 8 million deaths a year.