people are close to violating the seventh boundary of existence
Humanity is close to breaking the seventh planetary boundary, within which the Earth is suitable for its existence – and perhaps has already broken it. This is stated in the report of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Research (PIK).
In total, since 2009, scientists have identified nine planetary processes, six of which – climate change, biogeochemistry change, biodiversity loss, land use, fresh water reserves and invasive elements – have already crossed safe boundaries. Two more – depletion of the ozone layer (the state is stable) and the concentration of aerosols in the air (decreasing) – within the norm.
The last process that threatens life on Earth – ocean acidification is near the critical threshold, especially in high latitudes. The ocean is acidified due to the absorption of carbon dioxide, which is increasingly released as a result of human activity.
Exceeding the limits of each planetary process is fraught with a violation of the stability, sustainability and suitability for life on Earth, the state of which in the last twelve thousand years allowed the emergence and existence of a complex human civilization.
