Prevent the underway sixth mass extinction. The head of state need to take action immediately

  • by: Brandon
  • recipient: Head of State

According to the report, three-quarters of the land-based environment and about 66 percent of the marine environment have now been significantly altered by human actions, and land-based habitats have fallen by 20 percent. Approximately 40 percent of amphibian species, 33 percent of reef-forming corals and a third of all marine mammals are threatened. Scientists have also been finding evidence of a collapse of insects in certain places, leading to fears of an apocalypse at the base of the food chain. Since 1970, there has been a decline. Now the one million species are on the brink of extinction, there are ways to reverse if people globally understand the reality. 

1. Spread the word, to your family, friends, co-workers, and social media circle: the extinction crisis is real. Mobilizing a critical mass of people is the first step. Once humans realize problems are urgent — even big problems — we tend to be very good at fixing them.

2. Reduce your carbon footprint. Especially in developed countries, reducing the per-capita use of fossil fuels will be essential for holding climate change below lethal thresholds for many species globally. You can assess and figure out ways to lower your carbon footprint by using one of the many on-line carbon footprint calculators (like carbonfootprint.com). Even little changes like adjusting the thermostat; trip-chaining (go from one errand to the next) when you use your car for errands; recycling; and walking or biking instead of driving, when multiplied by hundreds of millions of the world's most prolific consumers, add up to huge results.

3. Buy products from companies committed to using sustainably produced palm oil in their products. Palm oil is an ingredient in many foods, cosmetics, and soaps. But tropical forests, which harbor up to two-thirds of all land species, are rapidly being cut down to make way for palm-oil plantations. Some companies that use palm oil in their products have committed to not using oil that originates from newly deforested landscapes — these are the companies to buy from. The Union of Concerned Scientists provides a list.

4. Eat fish from only healthy fisheries. Overfishing has wiped out 90 percent of the big fish from the sea and caused near-extinction of many species. An easy way to make sure the fish you buy are from healthy stocks is to use the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch App, which you can find at here.

5. Eat less meat. If lands now used to grow crops for livestock were instead used to grow crops eaten directly by people, there would be 50 to 70 percent more calories available for human consumption. Which is enough to feed more than a billion more people than we're feeding today, and would prevent plowing over rainforests to make more farms.

6. Never, ever buy anything made from ivory — or from any other product derived from threatened species. Buying ivory curios supports international terrorist groups and drug lords that orchestrate poaching so severe that, if it keeps up, will have killed all wild elephants on Earth within just twenty more years. Many other species are under siege for use in traditional "medicines" that studies have shown to have no health value, like those using parts of rhinoceros, tigers, snow leopards, and pangolins. When in doubt about whether something you want to buy comes from an endangered species, you can check cites.org, a website that lists of all species that are so endangered their trade has been banned by international law.

7. Enjoy nature. Spend your weekend or vacation exploring a national or state park or similarly biodiversity-rich place. That will remind you why preventing the Sixth Mass Extinction is so important. The reasons people have for wanting to keep species alive are diverse, ranging from "ecosystem services" — like pollinating crops, keeping soils fertile, or fueling local economies — to moral imperatives. But one of the most compelling reasons is that places with lots of species simply make people happy when they visit them. This is not surprising from a biological perspective — the human species evolved with a multitude of other species around us, and on a deep genetic level, biodiversity is home. Harvard biologist E. O. Wilson even gave our deep connection to nature a name: biophilia.

8. Adopt a species or become a citizen scientist. Get involved in helping conservation organizations by helping to nurture your favorite threatened species back to health or discovering where species live. Google "Adopt A Species" and you'll get a long list of organizations, species, and helpful actions to choose from. Become a citizen scientist here.

9. Vote for and support leaders who recognize the importance of switching from a fossil-fuel energy system to a carbon-neutral one, who see the necessity of growing crops more efficiently, whose economic agenda includes valuing nature, and who promote women's rights to education and healthcare. Providing access to education for women, especially in poor parts of the world where it is presently lacking, is important with respect to the extinction crisis, because education tends to reduce birth rates — a reduction that is needed to keep global population below ten billion by mid-century, and humanity's global footprint small enough to give other species a chance.

10. Don't give up. This is not a problem that will be solved overnight. It has taken decades, even centuries, to bring us to the crisis point we're now at. It will also take decades to bring the thousands of threatened species back to health. If you quit too soon, you, and the species you care about, lose. But it's important to start acting now. So many species are at risk that if we don't start turning things around pretty much today, it will be game over before we know it.

11. Regenerate biodiversity (important) and place protections under endangered species such as animals and plants, land and sea.

12. Stop searing fossil fuels- 

13: Fight for the Amazon - Wildfires and deforestation are pushing the Amazon rainforest toward a dieback scenario: an irreversible cycle of collapse. Scientists warn that if enough of the forest is lost, it could enter a spiral of collapse. This is an outcome with global consequences, and if we cross this threshold of deforestation, it could be a point of no return.

The Global Assessment puts forward these next, urgent steps: 

  • we need to redefine human well-being beyond its narrow basis on economic growth

  • engage multiple public and private actors

  • link sustainability efforts across all governance scales

  • elevate Indigenous and local knowledge and communities.

The report also recommends strengthening environmental laws and taking serious precautionary measures in public and private endeavours. Governments must recognise indivisibility of society and nature, and govern to strengthen rather than weaken the natural world.

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