Earth?s climate is forever changing and evolution and extinction of species is an inevitable part of the process. But a new study shows that human activities have accelerated the geological timescale to such an extent that we are faced with climate change and high rates of extinction of species, both plant and animal, pushing a number of key planetary processes into areas of high risk. The study, published in the journal Science, is an expansion of a 2009 report on ?planetary boundaries? for safe human use. Of a total of nine boundaries, ?four boundaries are assessed to have been crossed, placing humanity in a danger zone," the study points out. The four boundaries are climate change, species loss, land-use change and fertiliser pollution. According ?to the report, the rates of extinctions of animals and plants, caused by factors ranging from pollution to deforestation, were 10 to 100 times higher than safe levels.

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