15,000 Scientists Sign Doomsday Warning to Humanity

15,000 scientists from around the world have signed a letter to the human race warning them that they have “unleashed a mass extinction event.”

The Doomsday letter, a warning to humanity, was first written in 1992 and signed by 1,500 scientists, the Daily Mail reports. It warned the human race of the perils Earth would face due to the impacts that humans had on the natural world, claiming that such behavior would lead to “vast human misery” and a planet that was “irretrievably mutilated.” But it seems that their cries for change went unheard, leading to a new letter to be issued by 15,000 scientists from 184 different countries.

In the second warning letter to the globe, scientists warn that Earth and humanity’s future is even more bleak than it had been when the original letter was penned, and that by the end of this century, “many current life forms could be annihilated or at least committed to extinction.”

The letter goes on to point out different facts that are spelling out a glim future for our planet. According to the scientists, since the original letter was penned 25 years ago, the amount of fresh water available per head of population worldwide has reduced by 26 percent, the number of ocean dead zones has increased by 75 percent, and the number of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and fish has fallen by 29 percent. The letter also indicates mass deforestation and increase in the human population as reasons for the bleak future.

The letter goes on to urge people to pressure their political leaders to take more decisive action, stating that more nature and marine reserves are needed, as well as tougher laws against poaching and trade in wildlife. It also cites better family planning educational programs, less food waste, and the adoption of renewable energy and green technologies as ways to improve Earth’s future.

“Soon it will be too late to shift course away from our failing trajectory, and time is running out,” the letter warns. “We must recognise, in our day-to-day lives and in our governing institutions, that Earth with all its life is our only home. We can make great progress for the sake of humanity and the planet on which we depend.”