Introduction
"No major natural system on our planet is unchanged by human actions. Even as human choices dominate, simplify, and weaken our planet’s natural systems, we are accelerating our demands on them, as well as increasing stress on our political and social systems. Since the original publication of this book, both the pace of these changes and their magnitude have escalated. Everything that we now know about the impact of our lives on Earth leaves no doubt about the ill-considered consequences of our actions as individuals, institutions, and societies...
...We depend on the planet for all our needs. It provides the natural resources — the food, fiber, and minerals to shelter us, sustain us, and power our economies — and all the basic ecosystem services — clean water, clean air, and productive land for healthy life. The nutrients and other elements necessary for all life on Earth move through a closed planetary system of biogeochemical pathways that are increasingly affected by human actions.
We are destroying natural resources by overfishing our oceans, overharvesting our forests, and depleting wildlife. We are damaging basic ecosystem services by adding toxic substances to the environment, and introducing exotic species to new habitats. We are drawing down Earth’s capital, rather than living on the interest it generates for us, and we are only beginning to discover the complex consequences of the changes we are causing."
~ Faith for Earth, experts taken from page 73