[Physics] World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity

[MIKE EMERY]

SCIENCTISTS
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http://fore.yale.edu/publications/statements/union/

Union of Concerned Scientists


*World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity *



*Union of Concerned Scientists*





* This 1992 document was signed by 1,575 of the world’s most prominent
scientists (including 99 of the 196 living Nobel laureates) *and was sent
to governmental leaders all over the world. The document asks people to
take immediate action to stop the ever-increasing environmental degradation
that threatens global life support systems on this planet. The appeal was
coordinated by Dr. Henry Kendall, Nobel laureate (1990, Physics), and
former Chairperson of the Union of Concerned Scientists.


“World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity”

*Introduction*
Human beings and the natural world are on a collision course. Human
activities inflict harsh and often irreversible damage on the environment
and on critical resources. If not checked, many of our current practices
put at serious risk the future that we wish for human society and the plant
and animal kingdoms, and may so alter the living world that it will be
unable to sustain life in the manner that we know. Fundamental changes are
urgent if we are to avoid the collision our present course will bring about.

*The Environment*
The environment is suffering critical stress:

*The Atmosphere*
Stratospheric ozone depletion threatens us with enhanced ultra-violet
radiation at the earth’s surface, which can be damaging or lethal to many
life forms. Air pollution near ground level, and acid precipitation, are
already causing widespread injury to humans, forests, and crops.

*Water Resources*
Heedless exploitation of depletable ground water supplies endangers food
production and other essential human systems. Heavy demands on the world’s
surface waters have resulted in serious shortages in some 80 countries,
containing 40% of the world’s population. Pollution of rivers, lakes, and
ground water further limits the supply.

*Oceans*
Destructive presure on the oceans is severe, particularly in the coastal
regions which produce most of the world’s food fish. The total marine catch
is now at or above the estimated maximum sustainable yield. Some fisheries
have already shown signs of collapse. Rivers carrying heavy burdens of
eroded soil into the seas also carry industrial, municipal, agricultural,
and livestock waste—some of it toxic.

*Soil*
Loss of soil productivity, which is causing extensive land abandonment, is
a widespread byproduct of current practices in agriculture and animal
husbandry. Since 1945, 11% of the earth’s vegetated surface has been
degraded—an area larger than India and China combined—and per capita food
production in many parts of the world is decreasing.

*Forests*
Tropical rain forests, as well as tropical and temperate dry forests, are
being destroyed rapidly. At present rates, some critical forest types will
be gone in a few years, and most of the tropical rain forest will be gone
before the end of the next century. With them will go large numbers of
plant and animal species.

*Living Species*
The irreversible loss of species, which by 2100 may reach one third of all
species now living, is especially serious. We are losing the potential they
hold for providing medicinal and other benefits, and the contribution that
genetic diversity of life forms gives to the robustness of the world’s
biological systems and to the astonishing beauty of the earth itself.

Much of this damage is irreversible on a scale of centuries or permanent.
Other processes appear to pose additional threats. Increasing levels of
gases in the atmosphere from human activities, including carbon dioxide
released from fossil fuel burning and from deforestation, may alter climate
on a global scale. Predictions of global warming are still uncertain—with
projected effects ranging from tolerable to very severe—but potential risks
are very great.

Our massive tampering with the world’s interdependent web of life—coupled
with the environmental damage inflicted by deforestation, species loss, and
climate change—could trigger widespread adverse effects, including
unpredictable collapses of critical biological systems whose interactions
and dynamics we only imperfectly understand.

Uncertainty over the extent of these effects cannot excuse complacency or
delay in facing the threats.

*Population*
The earth is finite. Its ability to absorb wastes and destructive effluent
is finite. Its ability to provide food and energy is finite. Its ability to
provide for growing numbers of people is finite. And we are fast
approaching many of the earth’s limits. Current economic practices which
damage the environment, in both developed and underdeveloped nations,
cannot be continued without the risk that vital global systems will be
damaged beyond repair.

Pressures resulting from unrestrained population growth put demands on the
natural world that can overwhelm any efforts to achieve a sustainable
future. If we are to halt the destruction of our environment, we must
accept limits to that growth. A World Bank estimate indicates that world
population will not stabilize at less than 12.4 billion, while the United
Nations concludes that the eventual total could reach 14 billion, a near
tripling of today’s 5.4 billion. But, even at this moment, one person in
five lives in absolute poverty without enough to eat, and one in ten
suffers serious malnutrition.

No more than one or a few decades remain before the chance to avert the
threats we now confront will be lost and the prospects for humanity
immeasurably diminished.

*Warning*
We the undersigned, senior members of the world’s scientific community,
hereby warn all humanity of what lies ahead. A great change in our
stewardship of the earth and the life on it, is required, if vast human
misery is to be avoided and our global home on this planet is not to be
irretrievably mutilated.

*What We Must Do*
Five inextricably linked areas must be addressed simultaneously:

   1.
*We must bring environmentally damaging activities under control to restore
   and protect the integrity of the earth’s systems we depend on. *

   We must, for example, move away from fossil fuels to more benign,
   inexhaustible energy sources to cut greenhouse gas emissions and the
   pollution of our air and water. Priority must be give to the development of
   energy sources matched to third world needs—small scale and relatively easy
   to implement.

   We must halt deforestation, injury to and loss of agricultural land, and
   the loss of terrestrial and marine plant and animal species.

   2. *We must manage resources crucial to human welfare more effectively. *

   We must give high priority to efficient use of energy, water, and other
   materials, including expansion of conservation and recycling.

   3.

*We must stabilize population. This will be possible only if all nations
   recognize that it requires improved social and economic conditions, and the
   adoption of effective, voluntary family planning. *
   4.

* We must reduce and eventually eliminate poverty. *
   5. * We must ensure sexual equality, and guarantee women control over
   their own reproductive decisions. *

The developed nations are the largest polluters in the world today. They
must greatly reduce their overconsumption, if we are to reduce pressures on
resources and the global environment. The developed nations have the
obligation to provide aid and support to developing nations, because only
the developed nations have the financial resources and the technical skills
for these tasks.

Acting on this recognition is not altruism, but enlightened self-interest:
whether industrialized or not, we all have but one lifeboat. No nation can
escape from injury when global biological systems are damaged. No nation
can escape from conflicts over increasingly scarce resources. In addition,
environmental and economic instabilities will cause mass migrations with
incalculable consequences for developed and undeveloped nations alike.

Developing nations must realize that environmental damage is one of the
gravest threats they face, and that attempts to blunt it will be
overwhelmed if their populations go unchecked. The greatest peril is to
become trapped in spirals of environmental decline, poverty, and unrest,
leading to social, economic, and environmental collapse.

Success in this global endeavor will require a great reduction in violence
and war. Resources now devoted to the preparation and conduct of
war—amounting to over $1 trillion annually—will be badly needed in the new
tasks and should be diverted to the new challenges.

A new ethic is required—a new attitude toward discharging our
responsibility for caring for ourselves and for the earth. We must
recognize the earth’s limited capacity to provide for us. We must recognize
its fragility. We must no longer allow it to be ravaged. This ethic must
motivate a great movement, convincing reluctant leaders and reluctant
governments and reluctant peoples themselves to effect the needed changes.

The scientists issuing this warning hope that our message will reach and
affect people everywhere. We need the help of many.

We require the help of the world community of scientists—natural, social,
economic, political;

We require the help of the world’s business and industrial leaders;
We require the help of the world’s religious leaders; and
We require the help of the world’s peoples.
We call on all to join us in this task.



Selected List of Signatories

*Anatole Abragam*
France

*Carlos Aguirre*
Bolivia

*Bruce Alberts*
United States of America

*Walter Alvarez*
United States of America

*Claude Allegre*
France

*Michael Alpers*
Papua New Guinea

*Viqar Uddin Ammad*
Pakistan

*Anne Anastasi*
United States of America

*Philip Anderson**
United States of America

*Christian Anfinsen**
United States of America

*How Ghee Ang*
Singapore

*Werner Arber**
Switzerland

*Michael Atiyah*
Great Britain

*Mary Ellen Avery*
United States of America

*Julius Axelrod**
United States of America

*Howard Bachrach*
United States of America

*John Backus*
United States of America

*Achmad Baiquni*
Indonesia

*David Baltimore**
United States of America

*H. A. Barker*
United States of America

*Francisco J. Barrantes*
Argentina

*David Bates*
Ireland

*Alan Battersby*
Great Britain

*Georg Bednorz**
Switzerland

*Baruj Benacerraf**
United States of America

*Germot Bergold*
Venezuela

*Sune Bergstrom**
Sweden

*Daniel Bes*
Argentina

*Hans Bethe**
United States of America

*Arthur Birch*
Australia

*Michael Bishop**
United States of America

*Konrad Bloch**
United States of America

*Nicholaas Bloembergen**
United States of America

*David Mervyn Blow*
Great Britain

*Baruch Blumberg**
United States of America

*Bert Bolin*
Sweden

*Norman Borlaug**
United States of America

*Frederick Bormann*
United States of America

*Raoul Bott*
United States of America

*Ronald Breslow*
United States of America

*Ricardo Bressani*
Guatemala

*Hermann Brück*
Great Britain

*Gerardo Budowski*
Costa Rica

*E. Margaret Burbidge*
United States of America

*Robert Burris*
United States of America

*Glenn Burton*
United States of America

*Adolf Butenandt**
Germany

*Sergio Cabrera*
Chile

*Paulo C. Campos*
Philippines

*Ennio Candotti*
Brazil

*Henri Cartan*
France

*Carlos Chagas*
Brazil

*Sivaramakrishna Chandrasekhar*
India

*Georges Charpak**
France

*Joseph Chatt*
Great Britain

*Shiing-Shen Chern*
China

*Christopher Chetsanga*
Zimbabwe

*Morris Cohen*
United States of America

*Stanley Cohen**
United States of America

*Stanley N. Cohen*
United States of America

*Mildred Cohn*
United States of America

*E. J. Corey**
United States of America

*John Cornforth **
Great Britain

*Hector Croxatto*
Chile

*Paul Crutzen*
Germany

*Partha Dasgupta*
Great Britain

*Jean Dausset**
France

*Ogulande Robert Davidson*
Sierra Leone

*Margaret Davis*
United States of America

*Luis D’Croz*
Panama

*Hans Debmelt**
United States of America

*Gerard Debreu**
United States of America

*Pierre-Gilles de Gennes**
France

*Johann Deisenhofer**
Germany

*Frederica de Laguna*
United States of America

*Pierre Deligne*
France

*Paul-Yves Denis*
Canada

*Frank Dixon*
United States of America

*Johanna Döbereiner*
Brazil

*Joseph Doob*
United States of America

*Renato Dulbecco**
United States of America

*Heneri Dzinotyiweyi*
Zimbabwe

*Paul Ehrlich*
United States of America

*Manfred Eigen**
Germany

*Samuel Eilenberg*
United States of America

*Thomas Eisner*
United States of America

*Mohammed T. El-Ashry*
Egypt

*Gertrude Elion**
United States of America

*Mahdi Elmandjra*
Morocco

*Aina Elvius*
Sweden

*K. O. Emery*
United States of America

*Paul Erdos*
Hungary

*Richard Ernst**
Switzerland

*Vittorio Ersparmer*
Italy

*Sandra Faber*
United States of America

*Nina Federoff*
United States of America

*Herman Feshbach*
United States of America

*Ernst Otto Fischer**
Germany

*Inga Fischer-Hjalmars*
Sweden

*Michael Ellis Fisher*
Great Britain

*Val Fitch**
United States of America

*Daflinn Follesdal*
Norway

*William Fowler**
United States of America

*Otto Frankel*
Australia

*Herbert Friedman*
United States of America

*Jerome Friedman**
United States of America

*Konstantin V. Frolov*
Russia

*Kenichi Fukui**
Japan

*Madhav Gadgil*
India

*Mary Gaillard*
United States of America

*D. Carleton Gajdusek**
United States of America

*Robert Gallo*
United States of America

*Rodrigo Gamez*
Costa Rica

*Antonio Garcia-Bellido*
Spain

*Leopoldo Garcia-Collin*
Mexico

*Percy Garnham*
Great Britain

*Richard Garwin*
United States of America

*Murray Gell-Mann**
United States of America

*Georgii Georgiev*
Russia

*Humam Bishara Ghassib*
Jordan

*Ricardo Giacconi*
United States of America

*Eleanor J. Gibson*
United States of America

*Donald Glaser**
United States of America

*Sheldon Glashow**
United States of America

*Edward Goldberg*
United States of America

*Marvin Goldberger*
United States of America

*Maurice Goldhaber*
United States of America

*Coluthur Gopolan*
India

*Stephen Jay Gould *
United States of America

*James Gowans*
France

*Roger Green*
New Zealand

*Peter Greenwood*
Great Britain

*Roger Guillemin**
United States of America

*Herbert Gutowsky*
United States of America

*Erwin Hahn*
United States of America

*Gonzalo Halffter*
Mexico

*Kerstin Hall*
Sweden

*Mohammed Ahmed Hamdan*
Jordan

*Adnan Hamoui*
Kuwait

*A. M. Harun-ar Rashid*
Bangladesh

*Mohammed H. A. Hassan*
Sudan

*Ahmed Hassanli*
Tanzania

*Herbert Hauptman**
United States of America

*Stephen Hawking*
Great Britain

*Elizabeth Hay*
United States of America

*Dudley Herschbach**
United States of America

*Gerhard Herzberg**
Canada

*Antony Hewish**
Great Britain

*George Hitchings**
United States of America

*Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin**
Great Britain

*Roald Hoffman**
United States of America

*Robert Holley**
United States of America

*Nick Holonyak*
United States of America

*Lars Hormander*
Sweden

*Dorothy Horstmann*
United States of America

*John Houghton*
Great Britain

*Sarah Hrdy*
United States of America

*Kenneth Hsu*
China

*Kun Huang*
China

*Hiroshi Inose*
Japan

*Turner T. Isoun*
Nigeria

*François Jacob**
France

*Carl-Olof Jacobson*
Sweden

*Dorothea Jameson*
United States of America

*Daniel Janzen*
United States of America

*Cecilia Jarlskog*
Sweden

*Louise Johnson*
Great Britain

*Harold Johnston*
United States of America

*Victor A. Kabanov*
Russia

*Jerome Karle**
United States of America

*Robert Kates*
United States of America

*Frederick I. B. Kayanja*
Uganda

*Joseph Keller*
United States of America

*Henry Kendall**
United States of America

*John Kendrew* *
Great Britain

*Elisabeth Kessler*
Sweden

*Maung-U Khin*
Myamnar

*Gurdev Khush*
India

*Susan Kieffer*
United States of America

*Klaus von Klitzing**
Germany

*Aaron Klug**
Great Britain

*E. F. Knipling*
United States of America

*Walter Kohn*
United States of America

*Janos Kornai*
Hungary

*Aderemi Kuku*
Nigeria
*Ikuo Kushiro*
Japan

*Devendra Lal*
India

*Gerald Cecil Lalor*
Jamaica

*Gerardo Lamas-Muller*
Peru

*Torvard Laurent*
Sweden

*Leon Lederman**
United States of America

*Sang Soo Lee*
Republic of Korea

*Yuan T. Lee**
United States of America

*Susan Leeman*
United States of America

*Jean-Marie Lehn**
France

*Wassily Leontief**
United States of America

*Luna Leopold*
United States of America

*Louis Leprince-Ringuet*
France

*Vladilen Letokhov*
Russia

*Rita Levi-Montalcini**
United States of America

*Shan Tao Liao*
China

*Li Chang-lin*
China

*William Lipscomb**
United States of America

*Jane Lubchenco*
United States of America

*Christopher Magazda*
Zimbabwe

*Lydia Phindile Makhubu*
Swaziland

*Khursheed Ahmad Malik*
Pakistan

*Lynn Margulis*
United States of America

*Paul Marks*
United States of America

*George Martine*
Brazil

*Frederico Mayor*
Spain

*Ernst Mayr*
United States of America

*Maclyn McCarty*
United States of America

*James McConnell*
Ireland

*Digby McLaren*
Canada

*James Meade**
Great Britain

*Jerrold Meinwald*
United States of America

*M. G. K. Menon*
India

*Gennady Mesiatz*
Russia

*Jan Michalski*
Poland

*Hartmut Michel**
Germany

*Brenda Milner*
Canada

*César Milstein**
Argentina

*Franco Modigliani**
United States of America

*Andrei Monin*
Russia

*Marcos Moshinsky*
Mexico

*Nevill Mott**
Great Britain

*Teruaki Mukaiyama*
Japan

*Walter Munk*
United States of America

*Anne Murray*
Sweden

*Joseph Murray**
United States of America

*Noreen Murray*
Great Britain

*Lawrence Mysak*
Canada

*Jayant Vishnu Narlikar*
India

*Anwar Nasim*
Saudi Arabia

*Kim Nasmyth*
Great Britain

*James Neel*
United States of America

*Louis Néel**
France

*Yuval Ne’eman*
Israel

*Oleg M. Nefedov*
Russia

*Erwin Neher**
Germany

*Marshall Nirenberg**
United States of America

*Yasutomi Nishizuka*
Japan

*John S. Nkoma*
Botswana

*Paul Nchoji Nkvvi*
Cameroon

*Howard Odum*
United States of America

*Bede Nwoye Okigbo*
Nigeria

*Ayub Khan Ommaya*
Pakistan

*Cyril Agodi Onwumechili*
Nigeria

*Mary Jane Osborn*
United States of America

*Yuri Ossipyan*
Russia

*Autzr Singh Paintal*
India

*George Pake*
United States of America

*George Palade**
United States of America

*Mary Lou Pardue*
United States of America

*Linus Pauling**
United States of America

*Barbara Pearse*
Great Britain

*Muhammed Abed Peerally*
Mauritius

*Manuel Peimbert*
Mexico

*Roger Penrose*
Great Britain

*John Philip *
Australia

*Lilian Pickford*
Great Britain

*John R. Pierce*
United States of America

*John Polanyi* *
Canada

*George Porter**
Great Britain

*Ilya Prigogine**
Belgium

*Giampietro Puppi*
Italy

*Edward Purcell**
United States of America

*Atta ur-Rahman*
Pakistan

*G. N. Ramachandran*
India

*Tiruppattur Ramakrishnan*
India

*Chintamani Rao*
India

*Eduardo Rapoport*
Argentina

*Marianne Rasmuson*
Sweden

*Peter Raven*
United States of America

*Martin Rees*
Great Britain

*Gerardo Reichel-Dolmatoff*
Columbia

*Tadeus Reichstein**
Switzerland

*Frederick Reines*
United States of America

*Alexander Rich*
United States of America

*Burton Richter**
United States of America

*Ralph Riley*
Great Britain

*Claude Rimington*
Norway

*Gustavo Rivas Mijares*
Venezuela

*Frederick Robbins**
United States of America

*Wendell Roelofs*
United States of America

*Heinrich Rohrer**
Switzerland

*Betty Roots *
Canada

*Miriam Rothschild*
Great Britain

*Sherwood Rowland*
United States of America

*Janet Rowley*
United States of America

*Carlo Rubbia**
Italy

*Vera Rubin*
United States of America

*Yuri Rudenko*
Russia

*Elizabeth Russell*
United States of America

*Albert Sabin*
United States of America

*Carl Sagan*
United States of America

*Roald Sagdeev*
Russia

*Ruth Sager*
United States of America

*Farrokh Saidi*
Iran

*Abdus Salam**
Pakistan

*Frederick Sanger**
Great Britian

*José Sarukhan*
Mexico

*Berta Scharrer*
United States of America

*Richard Schultes*
United States of America

*Melvin Schwartz**
United States of America

*Julian Schwinger**
United States of America

*Glenn Seaborg**
United States of America

*Michael Sela*
Israel

*Arne Semb-Johansson*
Norway

*Salimuzzaman Siddiqui*
Pakistan

*Kai Siegbahn**
Sweden

*Thomas Silou*
Congo

*Herbert Simon**
United States of America

*Alexej Sitenko*
Ukraine

*Jens Skou*
Denmark

*Charles Slack*
New Zealand

*George Snell**
United States of America

*Boris S. Sokolov*
Russia

*Roger Sperry**
United States of America

*Alexander Spirin*
Russia

*Earl Stadtman*
United States of America

*Thressa Stadtman*
United States of America

*Ledyard Stebbins*
United States of America

*Jack Steinberger**
United States of America

*Janos Szentgothai*
Hungary

*Tan Jia-zhen*
China

*Andrezej Tarkowski*
Poland

*Valentine Telegdi*
Switzerland

*Kirthi Tennakone*
Sri Lanka

*Walter Thirring*
Austria

*E. Donnall Thomas**
United States of America

*Jan Tinbergen**
The Netherlands

*Samuel C. C. Ting**
United States of America

*James Tobin**
United States of America

*Alexander Todd**
Great Britain

*Susumu Tonegawa**
Japan

*Cheng Kui Tseng*
China

*Hans Tuppy*
Austria

*James Van Allen*
United States of America

*Simon van der Meer**
The Netherlands

*John Vane**
Great Britain

*Martha Vanghan*
United States of America

*Harold Varmus**
United States of America

*George Wald**
United States of America

*Henrik Wallgren*
Finland

*E. T. S. Walton**
Ireland

*Prawase Wasi*
Thailand

*Gerald Wasserburg*
United States of America

*James Watson**
United States of America

*Victor Weisskopf*
United States of America

*Thomas Weller**
United States of America

*Diter von Wettstein*
Denmark

*Fred Whipple*
United States of America

*Gilbert White*
United States of America

*Torsten Wiesel**
United States of America

*Jerome Wiesner*
United States of America

*Maurice Wilkins**
Great Britain

*Geoffrey Wilkinson**
Great Britain

*Richard Willems*
Estonia

*Edward O. Wilson*
United States of America

*Lawrence A. Wilson*
Trinidad

*Evelyn Witkin*
United States of America

*Yang Fujia*
China

*Alexander L. Yanshin*
Russia

*Yongyuth Yuthavong*
Thailand

*Zhao Zhong-xian*
China

*Zhou Guang-zhao*
China

*Solly Zuckerman*
Great Britain
*Nobel Prize Winner

Reprinted with permission from the Union of Concerned Scientists.



   -
      - The Earth’s Atmosphere
      <http://fore.yale.edu/publications/statements/atmosphere/>
      - And God Saw That It Was Good
      <http://fore.yale.edu/publications/statements/and-god-saw-that-it-was-good-/>
      - The Joint Appeal in Religion and Science
      <http://fore.yale.edu/publications/statements/joint-appeal/>
      - Preserving and Cherishing the Earth
      <http://fore.yale.edu/publications/statements/preserve/>
      - Union of Concerned Scientists
      <http://fore.yale.edu/publications/statements/union/>
      - WCC Statement to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change COP3
      <http://fore.yale.edu/publications/statements/wcc-statement-to-the-un-framework-convention-on-climate-change-cop3/>
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