Published In

Ecology and Society

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2009

Subjects

Atmospheric aerosols, Global environmental change, Air -- Pollution, Environmental protection, Environmental policy, Climatic changes, Phosphorus -- Environmental aspects, Climate justice, Environmental justice, Social justice

Abstract

Anthropogenic pressures on the Earth System have reached a scale where abrupt global environmental change can no longer be excluded. We propose a new approach to global sustainability in which we define planetary boundaries within which we expect that humanity can operate safely. Transgressing one or more planetary boundaries may be deleterious or even catastrophic due to the risk of crossing thresholds that will trigger non-linear, abrupt environmental change within continental- to planetary-scale systems. We have identified nine planetary boundaries and, drawing upon current scientific understanding, we propose quantifications for seven of them. These seven are climate change (CO2 concentration in the atmosphere /or a maximum change of +1 W m-2 in radiative forcing); ocean acidification (mean surface seawater saturation state with respect to aragonite ≥ 80% of pre-industrial levels); stratospheric ozone (

Description

This is the publisher's final PDF

Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/8946

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