Who, What, Why

Before I delve into the science, I shall contextualise the PBs concept's development. Within sociology of science, feminist epistemology challenges the objectivity of the scientific method with the situated knower argument: claims of knowledge reflect the situation (the time and space, for example) and perspective of the knower.

(She's situated in October 3rd.)

So I trace back to the "knower".

PBs are primarily championed by the Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC), where Rockström works as executive director. The SRC is a non-profit, independent research institute focusing on "sustainability science for biosphere stewardship in the Anthropocene". They believe that:

1. the biosphere is critical to human and social development, 
2. humanity is part of the biosphere by depending on ecosystem services and transforming its structure and functioning at unprecedented speeds, and 
3. we have entered the globalised phase of environmental change. 

Scientists at the SRC are not the only ones who believe that the Earth has entered a new epoch, where humanity is shaping the entire biosphere. Many scientists are trying to formally declare the Anthropocene as a recognised subdivision of geological time. On this new trajectory, characterised by global changes in climate, ecosystems, and various other biosphere features, we are now in the driving seat for navigating our future. 

It is now wise to keep human activities in check. SRC's research attempts to find out how.

According to the SRC, "One of the most significant attempts to provide scientific guidelines for improved stewardship of the planet is the PBs concept." In the next few post, I shall explore these guidelines.

Planetary Boundaries: Introduction

In 2009, an international group of Earth System scientists and environmental scientists developed a framework called the Planetary Boundaries (PBs), a set of environmental limits to illustrate Earth's limited capacity to absorb and buffer environmental changes as a result of human activities. The report and its edited summary identified 9 environmental limits, quantified 7, and found 4 to already be transgressed. All these boundaries are interdependent. In a 2015 update, 3 planetary boundaries were proposed to have a pervasive influence on the remaining boundaries, and might push Earth into a new, unpredictable state if crossed.

Planetary Boundaries. (Source: Science)

These boundaries define a safe operating space for humanity for several biophysical processes which regulate the stability of the Earth System.

Professor Johan Rockström, lead author of the 2009 paper, gave a TED talk in 2010 entitled "Let the environment guide our development". This is a good introduction to our current state of affairs, and where the PBs come in. I have embedded this entertaining, provocative, and informative video below.

The 2009 paper was radical for its bold attempt to quantify environmental interactions and tipping points, and for its strong position on comparing global transgressions on one diagram. Rockström wanted the concept to influence not just environmental politics, but foreign policy too: staying within the PBs should be a "top geopolitical priority today".

PBs attracted a lot of attention, citations and criticisms alike. It inspired numerous international science-policy initiatives. The 2010 UN High-Panel Level on Sustainability report included policy recommendations linking PBs with international policy. The EEA 2010 State of the Environment Report referred to PBs as a future environmental priority.

I believe they're worth investigating.

(PBs: Personal Boundaries?)

Finite Earth: Introduction

Take, make, dump. Take, make, dump.

Actually, Cady, this time you're wrong.

To me, limits are the essence of what it means to be human. We're limited by ability: not everyone can sprint 100m in less than 10 seconds, write Hamlet, or win the Nobel prize. We're limited by opportunity cost: time spent writing this blog means time spent not watching Mean Girls videos. Most importantly, we're limited by mortality: our very survival is limited by what's available in our environment.

And we know this. As a society, we have always been trying to use ingenuity to overcome these limits and enhance our ability to survive. Instead of letting each individual fend for him/herself, we cooperate and use machines and division of labour to make work easier. We alter the environment to do more, and live better, with less.

But at what point do the environmental changes we've created become a threat to our own survival?

To answer this question, let's take a look at the trajectory of human development.

Prior to 1800AD, we were dependent on inefficient mechanisms for harnessing energy, like windmills and animal muscle. These technologies alter environmental systems, but only on a local scale.

However, after 1800, efficiency improved dramatically, enough to kick-start the Industrial Revolution and grow enough food such that limits were taken off population growth. Following colonial expansion and WW2, neoliberal structures resulted in economic and social policies being adopted globally. These resulted in exponential increases in population, GDP, fertilizer consumption and internationalization of science and technology. The increase in the scale of human enterprise from 1950 onwards is known as the Great Acceleration. These new developments alter the environmental systems on a global scale.

The Great Acceleration (Source: MOOC)

Along with the Great Acceleration, we also came to a new, sobering realisation about our fragile existence and our place in the universe. We have mapped every corner of the globe and even advanced into space; we now find our growth limited by the capacity of our planet. This picture, "Earthrise", taken in 1968, sums up this realisation: this blue marble is all we have.

With the Great Acceleration creating rising pressure on the environment colliding with the increasing number of people on Earth with a right to development, scientists are driven to identify the point where global environmental changes will become a threat to our species' survival.

In this blog, over the course of 13 weeks, I will talk about the Earth's limits, how we know them, and the implications on development. Specifically, I will explore the science behind our present understanding of the Planetary Boundaries, and its strengths and weaknesses. Finally, I will discuss how this understanding should guide our future.

I hope you enjoy the read, and if you have any questions about my posts, please do not hesitate to leave a comment :)