What makes us different? Read our Declaration of Journalistic Independence Home | About Natural News | Contact Us | Write for Natural News
Search our 25,000 free articles and special reports
climate change

Future of Humanity at Risk from Climate Change, Warns United Nations

Tuesday, April 15, 2008 by: David Gutierrez | Key concepts: climate change, international community and natural health

Want stories like this e-mailed to you? Click here for free email alerts
Email this article to a friend Printable Version
(NaturalNews) The United Nations has issued a report warning that global climate change and other environmental destruction is rapidly pushing the planet's life support systems past the point of no return. The U.N. Environment Program referred to the fourth Global Environmental Outlook report as "the final wake-up call to the international community."

The report, prepared by a group of 338 experts, compared current levels of consumption and population with the resources available on the planet. According to the researchers' calculations, current resource demand requires 22 hectares (54 acres) per person. However, current population levels mean that only 2.02 hectares per person are available. This is estimated to fall to 1.63 hectares per person by 2050 as the population climbs to a projected stabilization point of 8 to 10 billion.

According to Achim Steiner, executive direction of the U.N. Environment Program, the problem is not population per se, but rather per capita impact on the planet.

"To force people to stop having children would be a simplistic answer," Steiner said. "The more realistic, ethical and practical issue is to accelerate human well-being and make more rational use of the resources we have."

The report says that the planet is increasingly stressed by factors such as global climate change. Indicators of this ecological stress are the spread of dead zones in oceans and the resurgence of certain diseases.

Steiner warned that the effects of climate change are "accelerating at a pace that goes beyond the scenarios and models we've been using." Certain regions of the planet are expected to reach ecological tipping points in the near future, meaning that the ecology will be so damaged that it can no longer recover. Steiner also warned that if climate change continues to dry out parts of Africa and melt Himalayan glaciers that supply water to vast portions of India and China, tipping points could be passed in those regions soon.

He called for the international community to put the same effort into combating other forms of environmental degradation as has been shown on climate change in recent years.

###

Related Articles

• Survey finds Europeans more concerned about climate change than Americans

• Northeastern U.S. states may experience radical climate change as global warming unfolds, warn scientists

• American Enterprise Institute allegedly offers bribes to scientists for disputing UN climate change report

• Earth's wobbly orbit causes climate change, mass extinctions every 2.5 million years

• Scientists find evidence that global warming could be causing an "evolution explosion"

Additional Resources:

climate change
international community
natural health

Take Action: Support NaturalNews.com

Email this article to a friend

Share this article on: NewsVine | digg | del.icio.us

Permalink to this article: http://www.NaturalNews.com/023023.html

Reprinting this article: Non-commercial OK, cite NaturalNews.com with clickable link.

Receive our Natural Health Newsletter for FREE

Subscribe now (it's free!) to win. We randomly choose a subscriber each month to send $100 in eco-home products or a RealGoods.com gift certificate (our choice). Plus, you'll receive FREE news, articles and action alerts from NaturalNews.com editors and join over 800,000 monthly readers who report extraordinary health improvements after becoming a subscriber!
  • Receive breaking news alerts on natural health solutions, renewable energy, the environment, global warming and more.
  • Receive a free instant download of our $29 Secret Sources guide that reveals top sources for little-known health and diet solutions.
Your Email Address:
Free Subscription Code:
Enter the numbers you see:
100% free of charge. Unsubscribe anytime.
Absolutely no spam. We respect your email privacy.

Recommended Special Report:

Seven Words that can Change the World
by Joseph R. Simonetta

Read this special report now...

"Seven Words That Can Change the World reveals the astonishing, simple truths that have the power to forever transform our world for the better while freeing our minds from the enslavement of limiting beliefs. This is not a text for the simple-minded; it is a guiding philosophy for the mindful, intelligent few who are wise enough to seek out -- and recognize -- the higher simplicities of truly purposeful living." - Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, editor of NaturalNews.com

More on NaturalNews.com:

• Streaming Health Ranger Videos
• CounterThink Cartoons
• FREE Special Reports
• Podcasts

Also Posted Today

• The Politics of National Health Care Reform: Why no Popular Presidential Candidate can Solve Our Health Care Crisis (transcript)

• Big Pharma "Doomed" if it Doesn't Change, Says Eli Lilly Chairman

• The Poisoning of America's Water Supplies

• Rickets on the Rise as Vitamin D Deficiency Surges Among Expectant Mothers

• The Many Benefits of Coconut Oil and Coconut Butter

Beat Disease With Juice Feasting!

NEW 6-CD audio set reveals amazing new protocol for reversing cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart disease and more. Click to learn more.

Own Health Ranger Report Podcasts on Audio CD

Own the first 8 Health Ranger Report audio programs on 6 CDs. Covers weight loss, ADHD, vaccinations, processed meats, bone health and more. Click to learn more.

Featured Videos

Short clip on Aspartame
A short clip on aspartame from the documentary All Jacked Up.
Click here to view now...

Exclusive video on Aspartame
The dangers of aspartame! Exclusive interview footage from Cori Brackett of Sweet Remedy.
Click here to view now...

Exclusive Footage from All Jacked Up!
See interview footage featuring the Health Ranger in the upcoming junk food film, All Jacked Up.
Click here to view now...

Drug Ad Parody
See the Health Ranger's satire parody of Merck's cholesterol drug ad.
Click here to view now...

Free Health Reports!

• Amazon Herb Company review
• The pH Nutrition Guide to Acid / Alkaline Balance
• Pet Food Ingredients Revealed! (shocking)
• Medicine From Fish
• The Water Cure
• The Healing Power of Sunlight and Vitamin D

Featured CounterThink Cartoons

Human Roundup


The Pollution Point of No Return


Global warming deniers


Health Product Companies We Recommend

Read recommendations on supplement companies, health food manufacturers and personal care product makers that you can trust. Our 100% independent review list tells you who to trust and who to avoid in the natural health industry. Click to read.
This site is part of the Natural News Network © 2008 All Rights Reserved. Privacy | Terms All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing International, LTD. is not responsible for content written by contributing authors. Truth Publishing sells no health or nutritional products and earns no money from health product manufacturers or promoters. The information on this site is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice of any kind. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. Your use of this website indicates your agreement to these terms and those published here. All trademarks, registered trademarks and servicemarks mentioned on this site are the property of their respective owners.