Humans affect Earth’s global energy flow

London: The impact that human beings have made on the Earth in terms of production and consumption of natural resources has formed a 'striking new pattern' in the planet's global energy flow, finds a new research. The results, published in the journal Earth's Future, showed definite signs that human beings have permanently changed the planet and have triggered Anthropocene an era where humans dominated Earth's surface geology.

Also, when measured against the billion-year old patterns of planet Earth, the present era forms a striking new pattern. Human beings have seized something like one quarter of the net primary biological production of the planet and has become effectively the top predator both on land and at sea.

In addition, by digging phosphorus out of the ground and by fixing nitrogen out of the air to make fertilizers; and by exploiting hundreds of millions of years worth of stored carbon-based energy in a still-accelerating trend, humans are increasing productivity well above natural levels and directing much of it towards animals that have been re-engineered to suit our purposes.