Humanity gobbles a quarter of nature’s resources

July 5, 2007 | Source: NewScientist.com news service

People appropriate 24 percent of the Earth’s production capacity that would otherwise have gone to nature, according to figures for the year 2000, including 15.6 trillion kilograms of carbon annually.

If we expand production of biofuels, it would mean clearing what remains of the world’s rainforests in countries such as Brazil and Argentina.

As well as wiping out thousands of species, this would have devastating effects on the climate.