Three-Quarters of Earth’s Land Got Drier

[MsAmerica]

Three-Quarters of Earth’s Land Got Drier in Recent Decades, U.N. Says
Human-caused global warming helped increase dry conditions on every continent, scientists said in a new report, as talks on halting desertification were underway in Saudi Arabia.
By Raymond Zhong

From the American West to eastern China, more than three-quarters of Earth’s land became persistently drier in recent decades, according to a new United Nations report that called the shift a “global, existential peril.”

Industrial emissions of planet-warming gases were a major culprit, the report said. If nations don’t stop the rise in temperatures, the drying is likely to expose more places to sand and dust storms, wildfires, water shortages, crop failures and desertification. The report was released on Monday at a U.N. summit taking place this month in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where nations are discussing how to stop more habitable surfaces from turning into barren wastelands.

Nearly one in three people live in moisture-deprived areas, up from one in five in 1990, the report said. Many of these places are major food producers, such as Argentina, Spain and the Black Sea region, said Narcisa Pricope, one of the report’s authors and a land systems scientist at Mississippi State University. Others, like South Sudan, are vulnerable to conflict and political instability.

The aridity crisis is unfolding “in our lifetime,” Dr. Pricope said.

For the whole article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/09/climate/global-desertification.html

None of the world’s major governments seem to believe in global warming and don’t seem prepared to take any major action. So I don’t see the point in trying to create panic amongst the ordinary people.

Don't you think the point is to try to motivate the populations to demand action?

Many of us have been trying to ask for action for 30 years or more at this point. I try to remember the good progress in renewable energy. But transport and housing issues have got worse across Europe as the wealthy have been allowed to increase conspicuous consumption, and in Britain the ridiculous increase in population has destroyed much of our environment. There have been so many times that we hoped would drive change - the millennium, 2008, the Brexit vote, all lasts just a few seconds before business returns to not just normal, but accelerated destruction. I’m not sure I see any hope.

Depressing, isn't it? The only thing that gives me a glimmer of hope is that more people are getting on the bandwagon. And if global warming starts to impact businesses, then conservatives will pay attention.

But I'm not sure how one would not "allow" conspicuous consumption. I'm fascinated that in some countries they prize modesty, but I'm not sure how that comes about.

Any one of India, China, Russia, or the USA can negate anything the rest of the world does. I can't see them all showing output, so I do think we are pretty toasted as a planet.

They're are just too many of us. The global population has more than doubled since I've been alive. It's not sustainable.

I'm not so sure about China - they seem to be waking up.

Just placemarking to come back to this tomorrow. The LA fires are frightening and I think that the Western world might have to wake up to this - with Trump the denier just coming into charge.

So sad!!

Sadly it’s not enough to focus on the consumer. I do a lot of work in this field in behaviour and individuals are trying to survive and will do and buy whatever is the cheapest or most affordable for them (not all but a majority) and this is keeping alot of corporations alive and they are remaining profit driven.

The emphasis needs to be in changing company culture. Changing what ROI means and looks like.

We can complain about the population all that we like, but let’s face it- the western way of living isn’t working for the planet. But it’s the norm. We need more fuel, we ship more items, we produce more poly-based materials.

If the population kept growing but we didn’t have the plastic problem, throw-away culture and international flights (I don’t mean people - I mean goods aswell!) - all fuelled by organisation, which, we the people buy into out of convenience - we might be in a better position.

Organisations do what they need to to to sell and maximise profit

The only way to change there is to legislate

And to legislate you need popular support- it wouldn't go down well if companies have a "green tax" which leads to increase prices - and whatever mechanism was chosen would lead to increased costs because otherwise that is what they would be doing now

So individuals do matter

I think focusing on the consumer is crucial - especially in terms of getting consumers to prod corporations and government officials!

I think you are right. I’m not sure how many billions the planet can safely sustain but I think it’s a lot less than the current 7.8 billion. On track for 10 billion by 2050.

The problem with population growth is that it is not evenly spread. We in Europe started controlling our population levels decades ago and have provided the rest of the world with the same chance. Only China has taken serious action. Asian countries are only just beginning to stabilise their growth levels. Some African countries and Middle Eastern by contrast have multiplied their populations five times in 50 years and show no self-awareness whatsoever.

@MsAmerica, ironic username for this topic as most of Europe was practising more modest lifestyles until the mass globalisations and new consumerist movements started in the 80s (as part of neoliberalism and the mantra that greed is good) and pushed by America. It is a matter of shifting those values back and it won’t happen while the market and ‘might is right’ is in control of all political thinking

i struggle actually to think of a worse possible concatenation if circumstances than the unprecedented human population levels, technology and capability together with this market ideology and the resurgence of ‘might is right’ male mindsets and in Britain, the class system. Any change back would have to be driven by examples, true examples, from the top such as our royal family moderating their greed.