Em in Ohio
Senior Member
- Location
- OH HI OH
My lawn is peppered with Dutch clover, a short flowering plant that, in my childhood, would be a moving mass of honey bees. This year, I have seen 3 honey bees. This got me thinking of extinction issues and the loss of biodiversity. I came across this UK site. This is the link for those outside the UK.
From - https://rebellion.global/why-rebel/
Here’s The Problem:
We’ve all heard it before - the Earth is getting hotter, CO2 levels are rising, and we are in the midst of the Sixth Mass Extinction (The Anthropocene). We are facing two equally critical issues - biodiversity loss and climate change. Both are having unprecedented dire consequences not only on us as humans, but on every living being and ecosystem on the planet. It is beyond a doubt that human activities are triggering these changes.
Biodiversity Loss & Mass Extinction
We are facing a loss of over 1 million species, directly due to humans’ way of life, extractive economies, and levels of consumption. The ‘father of biodiversity’ E.O. Wilson estimates we are losing 27,000 species a year, or one every 19 minutes - itself a conservative estimate with the United Nations own council on biodiversity putting it at 150 each day. Our planetary systems work together as part of a whole - when one part is affected, it can have a domino effect, having drastic implications for all parts of the whole. Deforestation is diminishing the earth’s ability to naturally store carbon; extraction of raw materials and agriculture are destroying natural spaces; diseases and invasive species are spreading through commercial routes; and overexploitation is leading many species to extinction.
As we continue to destroy the natural world - the Earth’s life support systems - we risk spillover of disease from wild species, leading to the continued possibility of more pandemics like Covid-19.
Climate Change & CO2 Levels
Each of the past 4 decades has been hotter than the last, while the past 5 years alone have been the hottest ever recorded. Climate change is one of the most damaging effects of our industrialized society. In 2018, the top experts in their fields, the UN International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a special report on the systemic effects of 1.5°C on the planet.
1.5 degree doesn’t sound like a lot, does it? When we’re talking about the entirety of the planet, it’s quite a lot. Consequences of allowing us to go beyond 1.5°C would be disastrous on every level: islands and coastal cities disappearing because of rising sea levels, deadly extreme heat, droughts and shortages of food and water, forcing entire populations to flee their homes. It’s not hard to see that we have a serious problem on our hands. 1.5°C could be catastrophic - to our health, nature, the global economy, and our way of life.
We know that the concentration of warming greenhouse gas CO2 in our atmosphere has risen by a meteoric 45% since the Industrial Revolution, mainly as a result of human activities - burning fossil fuels to generate electricity, depriving the earth of a crucial “carbon sink” by clearing forests for livestock and food production, transportation systems, and industrial byproducts.
We must address both climate change and biodiversity simultaneously if we have any chance of averting disaster.
From - https://rebellion.global/why-rebel/
Here’s The Problem:
We’ve all heard it before - the Earth is getting hotter, CO2 levels are rising, and we are in the midst of the Sixth Mass Extinction (The Anthropocene). We are facing two equally critical issues - biodiversity loss and climate change. Both are having unprecedented dire consequences not only on us as humans, but on every living being and ecosystem on the planet. It is beyond a doubt that human activities are triggering these changes.
Biodiversity Loss & Mass Extinction
We are facing a loss of over 1 million species, directly due to humans’ way of life, extractive economies, and levels of consumption. The ‘father of biodiversity’ E.O. Wilson estimates we are losing 27,000 species a year, or one every 19 minutes - itself a conservative estimate with the United Nations own council on biodiversity putting it at 150 each day. Our planetary systems work together as part of a whole - when one part is affected, it can have a domino effect, having drastic implications for all parts of the whole. Deforestation is diminishing the earth’s ability to naturally store carbon; extraction of raw materials and agriculture are destroying natural spaces; diseases and invasive species are spreading through commercial routes; and overexploitation is leading many species to extinction.
As we continue to destroy the natural world - the Earth’s life support systems - we risk spillover of disease from wild species, leading to the continued possibility of more pandemics like Covid-19.
Biodiversity loss affects so much more - our food systems, economic systems, resiliency in the face of extreme weather. From Aspirin to numerous cancer treatments, more than 50% of all medicines in active clinical use come from irreplaceable natural sources, with scientists believing countless more undiscovered medicines await us in biodiverse rich places like the Amazon and the jungles of East Asia. By destroying habitats, we destroy our own future.These activities cause pandemics by bringing more people into contact and conflict with animals, from which 70% of emerging human diseases originate...untold human suffering and halt economies and societies around the world. This is the human hand in pandemic emergence. Yet [Covid-19] may be only the beginning.
- The Guardian
Climate Change & CO2 Levels
Each of the past 4 decades has been hotter than the last, while the past 5 years alone have been the hottest ever recorded. Climate change is one of the most damaging effects of our industrialized society. In 2018, the top experts in their fields, the UN International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a special report on the systemic effects of 1.5°C on the planet.
1.5 degree doesn’t sound like a lot, does it? When we’re talking about the entirety of the planet, it’s quite a lot. Consequences of allowing us to go beyond 1.5°C would be disastrous on every level: islands and coastal cities disappearing because of rising sea levels, deadly extreme heat, droughts and shortages of food and water, forcing entire populations to flee their homes. It’s not hard to see that we have a serious problem on our hands. 1.5°C could be catastrophic - to our health, nature, the global economy, and our way of life.
We know that the concentration of warming greenhouse gas CO2 in our atmosphere has risen by a meteoric 45% since the Industrial Revolution, mainly as a result of human activities - burning fossil fuels to generate electricity, depriving the earth of a crucial “carbon sink” by clearing forests for livestock and food production, transportation systems, and industrial byproducts.
We must address both climate change and biodiversity simultaneously if we have any chance of averting disaster.