While suggested solutions abound ( Díaz et al., 2019), the current scale of their implementation does not match the relentless progression of biodiversity loss ( Cumming et al., 2006) and other existential threats tied to the continuous expansion of the human enterprise ( Rees, 2020). But the mainstream is having difficulty grasping the magnitude of this loss, despite the steady erosion of the fabric of human civilization ( Ceballos et al., 2015 IPBES, 2019 Convention on Biological Diversity, 2020 WWF, 2020). Humanity is causing a rapid loss of biodiversity and, with it, Earth's ability to support complex life. Without fully appreciating and broadcasting the scale of the problems and the enormity of the solutions required, society will fail to achieve even modest sustainability goals. The science underlying these issues is strong, but awareness is weak. The added stresses to human health, wealth, and well-being will perversely diminish our political capacity to mitigate the erosion of ecosystem services on which society depends. We especially draw attention to the lack of appreciation of the enormous challenges to creating a sustainable future. Third, this dire situation places an extraordinary responsibility on scientists to speak out candidly and accurately when engaging with government, business, and the public. Second, we ask what political or economic system, or leadership, is prepared to handle the predicted disasters, or even capable of such action. The scale of the threats to the biosphere and all its lifeforms-including humanity-is in fact so great that it is difficult to grasp for even well-informed experts. First, we review the evidence that future environmental conditions will be far more dangerous than currently believed. We report three major and confronting environmental issues that have received little attention and require urgent action. 14La Kretz Hall, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States.13Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States.12Global Footprint Network, Oakland, CA, United States.11Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United States.10Missouri Botanical Garden, St Louis, MO, United States.9The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Crested Butte, CO, United States.8Energy and Resources Group, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States.7Millennium Alliance for Humanity and the Biosphere, Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States.6Department of Science, Technology, and Society, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, United States.
1Global Ecology, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia.Ripple 11, Frédérik Saltré 1,2, Christine Turnbull 4, Mathis Wackernagel 12 and Daniel T. Ehrlich 3, John Harte 8,9, Mary Ellen Harte 9, Graham Pyke 4, Peter H. Ehrlich 3 *, Andrew Beattie 4, Gerardo Ceballos 5, Eileen Crist 6, Joan Diamond 7, Rodolfo Dirzo 3, Anne H.
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