International sustainability experts, including MSU's Jianguo "Jack" Liu, outline what's needed how the human/nature balance must change.
The survival of Earth’s life is not a battle of humans versus nature. In this week’s Science, an independent group of international experts, including one from Michigan State University (MSU), deliver a sweeping assessment of nature, concluding victory needs both humans and nature to thrive.
The article, co-authored by MSU sustainability scholar Jianguo “Jack” Liu, explores how human impacts on life on Earth are unprecedented, requiring transformative action to address root economic, social and technological causes.
It’s a notable assessment not just for its unflinching examination of “living nature” – Earth’s fabric of life which provide food, water, energy and healthy security. The Science article “Pervasive human-driven decline of life on Earth points to the need for transformative change” takes up where the recent Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Global Assessment (IPBES) leaves off by following an intergovernmental process from start to end. The report covers not only the history of humanity’s interactions with nature – with particular focus on the last 50 years – but also how these might change in the future.
Continue reading at Michigan State University
Image via Michigan State University
