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Endangered
estuaries are one sign of the human impact on the
world's waterways (Tim Chapman—Newsmakers) |
Deep Damage
TUESDAY,
August 3, 1999
Without question, humans dominate the Earth.
But is that a good thing for the planet? Two years ago,
researchers Peter Vitousek, Harold Mooney, Jane Lubchenco and
Jerry Melillo published a report in the journal Science on
"Human Domination of Earth's Ecosystems." That
overview detailed how we have altered the environment by
transforming approximately half of the earth's land surface,
driving about a quarter of bird species to extinction and
increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide by nearly 30 percent
since the industrial revolution. Now the scientists have
updated their analysis, describing the dramatic effects humans
have had on the oceans. In a presentation before the
International Botanical Congress in St. Louis, Lubchenco, a
professor of zoology at Oregon State University, said there
are now some 50 "dead zones", areas with little or
no oxygen, in coastal waters around the globe. Other
indications of human impact include the proliferation of algal
blooms, the loss of mangrove forests, and the entry of
non-native species to our waterways. "There isn't any
question about human effects on the oceans," says George
M. Woodwell, director of the Woods Hole Research Center.
"The scale of the effect is hard to overestimate."
And that effect won't be felt just in the oceans, the
scientists warn—it could also hurt the quality of human
life. Oceanic resources we depend on, such as food or
medicines, may be lost. "That absolutely hits home,"
says Lubchenco. "Our future well-being, prosperity and
health depend on the functioning of these ecosystems." —
Yuval Rosenberg
Related Links:
Dealing
with Dead Zones
Suffering
Seas
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