For the first time in history manmade materials now likely outweigh all life on Earth, scientists said Wednesday in research detailing the "crossover point" at which humanity's footprint is heavier than that of the natural world.
The weight of roads, buildings and other constructed or manufactured materials is doubling roughly every 20 years, and authors of the research said it currently weighed 1.1 teratonnes (1.1 trillion tonnes).
As mankind has ramped up its insatiable consumption of natural resources, the weight of living biomass trees, plants and animals has halved since the agricultural revolution to stand at just 1 teratonne currently, the study found.
Estimating changes in global biomass and manmade mass since 1990, the research showed that the mass of human-produced objects stood at just three percent of the weight of biomass at the start of the 20th century.
But since the post-World War II global production boom, manufacturing has surged to the extent that humans now produce the equivalent of the weight of every person on Earth every week on average.
2020 likely marked the moment when manmade mass tipped higher than biomass, according to the study published in Nature.
"This study provides a sort of 'big picture' snapshot of the planet in 2020," said co-author Ron Milo of the Plant and Environmental Sciences Department at Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science.
"We hope that once we have these somewhat shocking figures before our eyes, we can as a species take responsibility."
Drawing on a host of industrial and ecological data, the study estimated human production accounts for roughly 30 gigatonnes annually.
At the current growth rate, manmade material is likely to weigh as much as three teratonnes by 2040.
At the same time, overall biomass is decreasing, mainly because of deforestation and land use changes making way for intensive agriculture.
Buildings and roads account for most of the manmade mass, and a number of construction trends including shifting from bricks to concrete in construction in the mid-1950s contributed to the accelerated weight accumulation.
Lead author Emily Elhacham told AFP that the study provided an indication of humanity's outsized impact on the natural world.
"We can no longer deny our central role in the natural world," she said. "We are already a major player and with that comes a shared responsibility."
AFP RELAXNEWS
Thu Dec 10 2020
2020 likely marked the moment when manmade mass tipped higher than biomass
50 maut di banjir kilat di Afghanistan - Polis
Menurut jurucakap polis, Abdul Rahman Badri, kesemua mangsa yang terkorban
di wilayah Ghor, dengan angka korban dijangka meningkat.
di wilayah Ghor, dengan angka korban dijangka meningkat.
Angka korban rakyat Palestin di Gaza hampiri 35,400 orang
Serangan Israel membunuh 83 orang dan mencederakan 105 yang lain dalam tempog 24 jam lalu.
Trak barangan ke Gaza musnah dalam kebakaran
Reuters melaporkan, video kejadian diperoleh pada Selasa lalu menunjukkan sekurang-kurangnya sebuah trak terbakar.
Keadaan PM Slovakia stabil tapi kekal serius
Keadaan Perdana Menteri Slovakia, Robert Fico disahkan stabil tetapi kekal dalam situasi serius selepas dia ditembak dalam cubaan membunuhnya.
Polis rampas bukti, dokumen di rumah suspek tembak Fico
Penyiasat polis merampas beberapa dokumen dan bukti di pangsapuri suspek yang menyerang Perdana Menteri Slovakia Robert Fico.
Singapura tingkatkan langkah keselamatan selepas serangan Balai Polis Ulu Tiram
Singapura telah meningkatkan langkah-langkah keselamatan, termasuk di pusat pemeriksaan negara, susulan serangan di Balai Polis Ulu Tiram, Johor, pada Jumaat.
Lapangan terbang baharu dapat atasi isu tiket mahal
Cadangan Sarawak untuk membangunkan sebuah lapangan terbang antarabangsa baharu di Kuching bukan sekadar bagi menyokong pertumbuhan ekonomi dan industri penerbangan, sebaliknya langkah jangka panjang mengatasi isu harga tiket mahal.
Sarawak yakin pendapatan negeri terus meningkat - Abang Johari
Sarawak yakin kadar pendapatan negeri itu dapat terus ditingkatkan dalam tempoh dua hingga tiga tahun ini berikutan pertumbuhan ekonomi negeri yang dilihat cukup memberangsangkan.
Tumpuan Ahad – 19 Mei 2024
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan di Astro AWANI.
Jenazah konstabel Ahmad Azza Fahmi selamat dikebumikan di Bidor
Jenazah konstabel Ahmad Azza Fahmi Azhar selamat dikebumikan di Tanah Perkuburan Islam Kampung Poh, Bidor, Perak kira-kira jam 7.20 malam Sabtu.