Other Planetary Crises

Climate Change may not be the most critical crisis on the planet. Climate change is significant, but that does not mean it is alone or paramount. Add in biosphere integrity, biogeochemical flows, synthetic chemicals, land use, and freshwater. All exceed their individual planetary boundaries, typically by enough to be separate crises. Three others are concerns: ocean acidification, ozone depletion, and and atmospheric aerosols. They are all concerns, but these exceed the boundaries that the others are approaching. Climate change is a critical crisis, but by their measures, biosphere integrity, biogeochemical flows, synthetic chemicals are potentially worse. Maybe climate change is mentioned more because it is easier to witness. And then there are the interactions, for those who want to further understand systems affecting systems. This is not a ranking of risks, but an illustration that solving one thing doesn’t mean we are done. We have learned a lot about the planet in the last few decades. Now we have to do something about what we’ve learned, what we’re responsible, and what we can do to make each better.