25th September 2023
‘Mutilating the tree of life’ said the Guardian’s headline. It was reporting on a study that found that at least 73 species groups (genera) have become extinct since 1500. Without human impact the extinction rate would probably have been just two such groups. Prof Ceballos, who led the research said “By losing all these genera, we are losing the foundations of the planet to have life in general and human life in particular. If you have a wall made of bricks, if you lose some, it won’t collapse but it won’t be as strong. If you lose many bricks, eventually it will collapse. The combination of the gases in the atmosphere that allows us to have life on the planet depends on plants, animals and organisms…”
The biodiversity crisis is as much a threat to the wellbeing of life on earth as the climate crisis. Both need to be addressed of either crisis is to be averted.
You might like to support the Zero Hour campaign which does focus on both crises – https://www.zerohour.uk/bill/
The Green Tau 