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Getting Worse

Overall Decline in Ecosystem Services
There are many examples of local and regional environmental problems getting better, especially in the cities of wealthy northern countries. However, there are many signs that ecosystems around the world are no longer able to provide the same level of services they provided in the past. Many significant problems related to sustainable scale issues are global in nature and continue to get worse. See Millenium Ecosystem Assessment, and the Living Planet Index.1

Living Planet Overview 2000.JPG

Some Examples
On an annual basis more greenhouse gases are emitted, driving climate change; biodiversity loss is increasing dramatically, including loss of both species and vital ecosystems such as mangroves, coral reefs and old growth forest; depletion of non-renewable resources critical to human activities, such as phosphates and petroleum, is increasing; and resources that should be renewable, such as various fisheries and soil fertility, are being depleted beyond the point where they can recover in a meaningful human timeframe (see Areas of Concern).

References

1"WWF: The Global Conservation Organization." World Wildlife Fund.
http://www.panda.org


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