Human-Made Elements Outweigh the Natural World
Researchers believe that 2020 is the year that human-made mass (roads, buildings, machines and everything else we manufacture) will outweigh the natural world (aka biomass). As mass on the planet is finite, this means biomass is shrinking, too—through the prevalence deforestation and development. This turning point “is a reason for all of us to ponder our role, how much consumption we do and how can we try to get a better balance between the living world and humanity,” Dr Ron Milo, the study’s lead researcher, tells the BBC. And while this shift has seemed inevitable since the 1950s, when new technologies helped humans significantly increase their production capabilities, 2020 may officially mark the dawn of the Anthropocene, a threshold that stamps humanity’s impact on our planet into the sediment and rock to be seen some millions of years from now. Read more at the BBC.
Image courtesy of BBC/Getty
Via bbc.com link opens in a new window
