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The Global Extinction Crisis is NOT Inevitable

"...widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures..."   Albert Einstein

 

1.  According to The Living Planet Report, issued every two years since 1998 by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the world's populations of wild mammals, reptiles and fish have declined by more than two-thirds on average since 1970.  Working in collaboration with the Zoological Society of London, the report warns that "serious drops like this tell us that nature is unraveling."  Monitored populations in Latin America and the Caribbean showed an average drop of 94% since 1970, while those in Africa and the Asia Pacific region dropped by 66% and 55% respectively.  North American monitored populations dropped by 20%, followed by an 18% drop in Europe and Central Asia.  While the destruction and fragmentation of natural habitats for farming or development has been the greatest danger to biodiversity, in the coming decades rising temperatures and climate change will become the dominant threat.  One of our most important allies in fighting the loss of biodiversity is nature itself, so be a supporter of forest restoration, healthy grasslands and prairies, and regenerative farming, as well as the rapid implementation of renewable energy.

 

2.  The World Wildlife Fund's new The Living Planet Report finds dramatic declines (83%) in the abundance of species that rely on freshwater, with similar declines in oceans, where warming temperatures introduce new predators, cause species to shift to more northern habitats, or make it harder for them to grow to maturity.  Another recent study by the University of Minnesota shows that the 40,000 lakes across the Upper Midwest are at risk of losing oxygen-rich coldwater habitat due to climate change and nutrient pollution.  The study predicts that lakes with suitable coldwater habitat will decline by 67% by mid-century, the result of forests or prairies being converted into farms or urban development that increase algae blooms from phosphorus and nitrogen runoff, as well as the effects of climate change.  Yet the study, published in the journal Ecosphere, concludes that protecting or restoring forested lands within lakes' watersheds, changing farming practices, and practicing shoreline vegetation restoration could help conserve critical habitat, even amid warming temperatures.

 

3.  As the global extinction crisis grows as humans continue to tear up the land, overuse certain resources, and heat up the planet, new research led by the University of Minnesota and published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, finds that 30% of species (including plants and insects) face global extinction or have been driven to extinction.  The majority of species on the planet are plants and insects and other invertebrates, and they are crucial in helping to purify our air, filter our water, maintain the health of our soils, pollinate plants we need for food, fuel and fiber, and provide medicines, according to the nonprofit research group NatureServe.  The dramatic drop in total bug numbers and diversity of insect species affects the fish and birds that depend on them for food, and ultimately will affect us unless we rapidly address the twin crises of habitat loss and warming temperatures due to climate change.  

 

4.  In her book "The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times,"internationally renowned scientist and primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall warns that "if we don't act wisely now to slow down the heating of our planet and the loss of plant and animal life, it may be too late."  Humans and their livestock and their pets far outnumber all other animal life, and have already wiped out 60 percent of all mammals, birds, fish and reptiles around the world.  All the major faith traditions call for us to care for the Earth, yet, according to Dr. Goodall, we seem unable to resist the "mixture of greed, hate, fear, and desire for power" that has inflicted so much harm,  and we should instead  create change with innovative solutions, including renewable energy, regenerative agriculture that replaces or mitigates big, single-crop agriculture, restoration of forests, grasslands and wetlands and habitat that supports pollinators.

 

 

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Laura Raedeke

EcoFaith Network NE MN Team
Lutheran Church of the Cross, Nisswa, MN

Northeastern Minnesota Synod

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NE-MN Synod ELCA with Saint Paul Area Synod Care of Creation

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