Humanity has wiped out 60% of animals since 1970, major report finds
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Re: Humanity has wiped out 60% of animals since 1970, major report finds
#2> “We are rapidly running out of time,” said Prof Johan Rockström, a global sustainability expert at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany. “Only by addressing both ecosystems and climate do we stand a chance of safeguarding a stable planet for humanity’s future on Earth.”
This is what happened the last time European bison crossed Polish-German border. Bison is under strict protection in both countries and there are ongoing efforts to reintroduce the specie. No negative consequences whatsoever for anyone.
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=pl&tl=en&u=h...
Re: Humanity has wiped out 60% of animals since 1970, major report finds
#3Is this true? It is hard to believe that killing off 60% of animals on the planet would leave us with a functioning ecosystem. It's also very hard to work out what the facts are here without finding yourself in climate change denial land, a place I do not want to visit.
Re: Humanity has wiped out 60% of animals since 1970, major report finds
#4Human population skyrocketing, animal population crashing, not a surprise. Even not taking into account pollution and exploitation of natural resources, it's a competition for space.
Re: Humanity has wiped out 60% of animals since 1970, major report finds
#5If this headline feels overwhelming to you, I highly recommend this article by Stewart Brand:
https://aeon.co/essays/we-are-not-edging-up-to-a-mass-extinc...
Note that it’s animal populations that are decreasing rapidly, not species.
Re: Humanity has wiped out 60% of animals since 1970, major report finds
#6Is this true? It is hard to believe that killing off 60% of animals on the planet would leave us with a functioning ecosystem. It's also very hard to work out what the facts are here without finding yourself in climate change denial land, a place I do not want to visit.
Ecosystems are mostly local - what this represents is the erasure of the rainforests and their conversion to largely animal-free cropland. The impact of that is yet another large CO2 emission.
Re: Humanity has wiped out 60% of animals since 1970, major report finds
#7Is this true? It is hard to believe that killing off 60% of animals on the planet would leave us with a functioning ecosystem. It's also very hard to work out what the facts are here without finding yourself in climate change denial land, a place I do not want to visit.
How do we know with still have a functioning ecosystem ? For example, there is a massive extinction of bees going on, the only reason we don't see a massive impact is that we have industrialized bee productions.
https://theconversation.com/a-bee-economist-explains-honey-b...
> In 2017, beekeepers in North Dakota, Idaho, Florida and other states shipped 1.7 million colonies to California to pollinate almond trees, or about 64 percent of the total population as of Jan. 1. The bees travel in semi-truck loads of 400 to 500 colonies each.
Re: Humanity has wiped out 60% of animals since 1970, major report finds
#8Don't worry, look at the bright side. E.g. I heard the US economy enjoys a 4% growth rate and that can only be a good thing! Right?
Re: Humanity has wiped out 60% of animals since 1970, major report finds
#9When I was a child about 20 years ago, I remember going snorkelling near my home in the North Adriatic Sea quite often. I could see crabs, starfish, sea urchins, sea horses, octopuses under rocks and loads of fish.
I went back there recently and was shocked to find the water looked clear but there were no animals left inside except for a few fish and a crab here and there.
This makes me really sad and pessimistic about the future of the planet and its living conditions for all living beings on it.
Re: Humanity has wiped out 60% of animals since 1970, major report finds
#10Human Population has more than doubled in the same timespan (from 3.7 billion to 7.7 billion today).
This is not sustainable. We only have one small planet to live on, and we are destroying it. We are overfishing the oceans, cutting down entire forests to make way for pastures, warming up the planet and acidifying the plastic-filled ocean. Even insect populations are plummeting.
The consequences of this will not be felt by your grandchildren. They will be felt by me and you. They are starting to appear already.
What can we do to change this? This cannot be fixed by individual action. Buying an electric car and using recyclable shopping bags is not enough.
I implore you to be politically active, to consider support for candidates that at least acknowledge that there is a problem. Consider a carbon tax. Consider big, international efforts to clean up our oceans. Consider sexual education efforts in developing nations. Consider carbon re-capture efforts. There's a ton of things we can do, but we have to start doing