---
title: "Scientists Warn That the Earth Is Literally Dying"
description: "A team of prominent scientists warns that we've already passed several ecological tipping points and are approaching even more."
date: "2021-07-28"
modified: "2021-07-28"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski.md"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/scientists-warn-earth-dying"
categories:
  - "Climate Change"
  - "Environment"
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "climate change"
  - "ecology"
  - "environment"
  - "the digest"
---

# Scientists Warn That the Earth Is Literally Dying

![A team of prominent scientists warns that we've already passed several ecological tipping points and are approaching even more.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/scientists-warn-earth-dying.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Image via Pixabay/Futurism\</em\>*

## Code Blue Dot

A team of scientists just took the planet's vitals and delivered a grim prognosis: the damage that humanity is causing may be terminal.

In other words, the planet [is in really, really bad shape](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/scientists-warn-ghastly-future-environment.md>) — out of the 31 metrics of ecological health that a team of prominent scientists from a long list of universities around the world looked at, 18 are facing all-time poor results, [they told *Agence France-Presse*](<https://phys.org/news/2021-07-earth-vital-worsening-humanity-impact.html>). The researchers behind the update are among the 14,000 experts who have now signed a statement saying the planet is in a state of emergency. Thanks to a "business as usual" approach to managing our pale blue dot, they conclude in a report slated for publication in the journal *BioScience*, we as a global society are approaching many environmental tipping points — and have already blown past several others.

## Laundry List

Atmospheric methane and carbon dioxide levels are at a record high. Arctic ice and glaciers are at an all-time low. Sea levels and oceanic temperatures are at their highest, as is the rate of deforestation in the Amazon.

The list of standout ecological horrors continues — and University of Exeter Global Systems Institute director Tim Lenton warned *AFP* that the damage is already making the climate "behave in shocking, unexpected ways."

## Tugging the Thread

The problem, the experts say, is that focusing too much on any single issue might become a wild goose chase. They say that the overall problem, more than any single factor or hazard, is humanity's winner-take-all approach to planetary stewardship.

"We need to stop treating the climate emergency as a stand-alone issue — global heating is not the sole symptom of our stressed Earth system," Oregon State University ecologist William Ripple told *AFP*. "Policies to combat the climate crisis or any other symptoms should address their root cause: human overexploitation of the planet."

**READ MORE:** [Earth's 'vital signs' worsening as humanity's impact deepens](<https://phys.org/news/2021-07-earth-vital-worsening-humanity-impact.html>) \[*Agence France-Presse*\]

**More on the planet:** *[Scientists Warn of "Ghastly Future" for Global Environment](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/scientists-warn-ghastly-future-environment.md>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)

## More

- [Scientists Just Took the Earth’s “Vital Signs.” They Hated What They Saw.](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/scientists-earths-vital-signs.md>)
- [Climate Change Is Eliminating Clouds. Without Them, Earth Burns](<https://futurism.com/greenhouse-gas-clouds.md>)
- [Leaked UN Climate Report: The Apocalypse Is Almost Here](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/climate-report-apocalypse.md>)
- [Too Much CO2 Is Killing Trees, Scientists Say](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/co2-killing-trees.md>)
- [Global Warming Is Already Transforming Our Planet, and It’s Literally Changing Our Genes](<https://futurism.com/global-warming-is-already-transforming-our-planet-and-its-literally-changing-our-genes.md>)
- [Study: Humanity Has Ravaged All But 3 Percent of The Land on Earth](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/humanity-ravaged-land-earth.md>)
- [Climate Change Just Wiped out Its First Mammal](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/climate-change-wiped-out-first-mammal.md>)
- [Scientists Warn of “Ghastly Future” for Global Environment](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/scientists-warn-ghastly-future-environment.md>)