Of all the changes we are making to the planet, it is the changes to biodiversity which are the most practically irreversible.
Unlike ice caps which can melt and eventually refreeze. As we extinct the species of planet Earth, there is not a reverse button. Each organism is like a book in the biological library of Alexandria, and we are currently overseeing a bonfire – with the current extinction rate estimated at roughly 1000X the natural extinction rate we see from the fossil record.
The industries that drive the most biodiversity loss in land are the ones that drive the most land use change: agriculture, big infrastructure, and mining. This is especially acute when the changes are focused in highly biodiversity regions, for example, the spread of palm oil plantations, soy farming, and fossil fuel, timber and mining exploitation in the world’s rainforests.
In the oceans, we are facing a biodiversity crisis driven by the warming and acidification that comes from higher CO2 levels. We are on track to extinct coral reefs from planet Earth by the year 2055, which will extinguish 25% of all ocean biodiversity at once. Overfishing, trawling, and even noise pollution are driving further damage to the healthy function of those ecosystems.
The life that is part of our planet is the richest legacy we have been gifted, and to pass on only crumbs to future generations is a profound failing and disconnect from the basic goals of a civilization. It’s time to turn the corner as we are in the few decades where most of the results will be decided. We’ve already seen a 70% reduction in wildlife planet-wide over the last 50 years, and it means so much of the fate of life on earth will be based on what we do in the next 50 years.
It’s time.
