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Planet Earth Is on the Brink and in Worse Shape Than Expected: New Research

More than 50 world experts have convened to issue a dire warning–and possible solution–about the planet.

A new study has highlighted the terrifying state of contemporary Earth—as the overheating planet soars past seven out of eight scientifically established safety limits and into “the danger zone.” The research by a team of international scientists that work under the group name Earth Commission, published in the science journal Nature Wednesday, claiming that “human pressures have put the Earth system on a trajectory moving rapidly away from the stable Holocene state of the past 12,000 years, which is the only state of the Earth system we have evidence of being able to support the world as we know it.” According to the Associated Press, scientists studied the effects of climate, air pollution, phosphorus and nitrogen contamination of water from fertilizer overuse, groundwater supplies, fresh surface water, the unbuilt natural environment and the overall natural and human-built environment. The only issue that didn't raise to the level of danger was air pollution. “Unless a timely transformation occurs, it is most likely that irreversible tipping points and widespread impacts on human well-being will be unavoidable,” said Prof. Johan Rockström, Earth Commission Co-Chair, lead author and Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.