Scientists Issue "Letter to Humanity"
The Union of Concerned Scientists have officially issued a follow-up letter to their 1992 “Warning to Humanity.” This time, the letter (titled “A Second Notice”) explains the world is in much worse shape in the realms of ozone depletion, air and water pollution, and climate change than it was at the time of the original warning. More than 15,000 scientists across 184 countries signed the letter.
“Humanity has failed to make sufficient progress in generally solving these foreseen environmental challenges, and alarmingly, most of them are getting far worse,” the letter explains. “Soon it will be too late to shift course away from our failing trajectory.”
According to CNN, carbon dioxide emissions have increased by 90 percent since the first letter, ocean dead zones have increased by 75 percent, and the past 10 years have been the warmest on record in recent history. The letter also mentions species loss, forest loss, biodiversity destruction, and continued human population growth as areas to which humans have done “substantial and irreversible harm.”
The one exception to the list of human-created catastrophes is the news that the hole in the ozone layer is the smallest it’s been since the late 1980s. The Washington Post explains this is likely due to our decreased use of chlorofluorocarbons, which are no longer used in aerosol cans or air conditioning units (CFCs were banned from production in 1996 after being proven to destroy the ozone layer). Scientists note this improvement proves “we can make positive change when we act decisively.”
In summary, though, “since 1992 ... humanity has failed to make sufficient progress in generally solving these foreseen environmental challenges, and alarmingly, most of them are getting far worse.”
Read the letter in full here.
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