How can we measure humanity's impact on the natural world? (1/5)
Human use now directly affects more than 70 per cent of Earth’s ice-free surface, with wilderness largely confined to a few areas of the Arctic, the Amazon rainforest, the Sahara desert and the Australian interior.
Human use now directly affects more than 70 per cent of Earth’s ice-free surface, with wilderness largely confined to a few areas of the Arctic, the Amazon rainforest, the Sahara desert and the Australian interior.
The acceleration of the rate of extinctions has been dramatic. The background or natural rate is 0.1 to 2 extinctions per million species per year. Data from the @iucn Red List of Threatened Species suggests a rate of 34 extinctions per million species per year now.
Since 1970, the global abundance of vertebrates has declined by 68 per cent, as measured by the Living Planet Index, produced by the @WWF in association with @OfficialZSL.
The Biodiversity Intactness Index is an alternative measure of how much of pre-industrial biodiversity remains. The global figure is currently 79 per cent, and falling.
You can see more graphics showing our impact on Earth’s ecosystems in our biodiversity status report, part of our special issue this week. newscientist.com/article/226803…
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