My herpetologist exhusband has been on the couch in agony since the 1960's. He saw it all coming post "Silent Spring". I tried to be his "Little Mary Sunshine" to no avail. He was right, he sounded the alarms, he was famous in the Zoo world for animal breeding. The fact that we are killing ourselves hasn't penetrated here in America.
Sadly, we will surpass the extinction rate of the dinosaurs. From 1960 until 2025 what was remaining on earth at that time has been reduced by anywhere from 75 to 85% worldwide. With the genetic pool shrinking rapidly as well as biodiversity and habitat what is remaining doesn’t stand a chance all caused by humans. How is it that one species can weld that much power. If you take a time machine back 10,000 years ago, this planet was teaming with wildlife. We built cities from one end of the Earth to the other paving over their homes they had nowhere to go but the graveyard 2000 years ago during the gladiator games Rome almost caused the extinction of all the large animals on the African continent out of greed for gory, so don’t expect an optimistic view from me when we still treat animals as an object.
Thanks for your thoughts. It can be hard to remain positive. But there's a lot of good folks out there doing a lot of good things. We all play a role and we have more power than we think. Yes, the people in power across much of the world are doing an exceedingly bad job right now. But things can change and they will change for the better.
What about the deadly effects of plastic pollution. This is a large reason that animals are not reproducing like before. Fertility rates are way down because of endocrine disrupting chemicals in plastic. Please report on this
Thanks. There are so many stressors out there. Microplastics are bad news, that's for sure. But they're one of many. I'll certainly try to have them feature in a future post.
The black robin story is a great example of dedicated people working to save a species. I am looking forward to reading about more positive solutions for biodiversity within the climate crises arena. This was a great article Jono. I like how you continue to link the importance of biodiversity in with climate change.
Would it not be more accurate and quantitative if the total loss of living biota by number or volume would be more demonstrative. During the a great biotic crisis total species losses were maybe 50% but total living things loss may have been 95% or worse . . We currently are on the human titanic -,icebergs are abound but the true disaster is the unseen total mass of loss currently in progress .
Not much to do with the topic, but funnily enough, I read first time about the Chatham Islands a couple of days ago, in the book Guns, Germs and Steel.
The biodiversity and climate crises definitely need to be tackled together, and human population growth is the key driver behind the threats involved in both.
It's such an amazing story isn't it! My wife grew up in the 80s on the Chathams. Her dad worked with Don Merton on black robins over there. I believe a black robin was even named after her.
Now that’s cool. And your photo is perfect. Great that they were able to get rid of predators on those islands. We’re soon headed to Kauai, where they have a bizarre fight going on over feral cats:
My herpetologist exhusband has been on the couch in agony since the 1960's. He saw it all coming post "Silent Spring". I tried to be his "Little Mary Sunshine" to no avail. He was right, he sounded the alarms, he was famous in the Zoo world for animal breeding. The fact that we are killing ourselves hasn't penetrated here in America.
Thanks for sharing, Martha. Every voice and effort helps!
Sadly, we will surpass the extinction rate of the dinosaurs. From 1960 until 2025 what was remaining on earth at that time has been reduced by anywhere from 75 to 85% worldwide. With the genetic pool shrinking rapidly as well as biodiversity and habitat what is remaining doesn’t stand a chance all caused by humans. How is it that one species can weld that much power. If you take a time machine back 10,000 years ago, this planet was teaming with wildlife. We built cities from one end of the Earth to the other paving over their homes they had nowhere to go but the graveyard 2000 years ago during the gladiator games Rome almost caused the extinction of all the large animals on the African continent out of greed for gory, so don’t expect an optimistic view from me when we still treat animals as an object.
Thanks for your thoughts. It can be hard to remain positive. But there's a lot of good folks out there doing a lot of good things. We all play a role and we have more power than we think. Yes, the people in power across much of the world are doing an exceedingly bad job right now. But things can change and they will change for the better.
What about the deadly effects of plastic pollution. This is a large reason that animals are not reproducing like before. Fertility rates are way down because of endocrine disrupting chemicals in plastic. Please report on this
Thanks. There are so many stressors out there. Microplastics are bad news, that's for sure. But they're one of many. I'll certainly try to have them feature in a future post.
The black robin story is a great example of dedicated people working to save a species. I am looking forward to reading about more positive solutions for biodiversity within the climate crises arena. This was a great article Jono. I like how you continue to link the importance of biodiversity in with climate change.
Thanks Kim! You know the black robin story well! Pretty cool to see it first hand like that!
Would it not be more accurate and quantitative if the total loss of living biota by number or volume would be more demonstrative. During the a great biotic crisis total species losses were maybe 50% but total living things loss may have been 95% or worse . . We currently are on the human titanic -,icebergs are abound but the true disaster is the unseen total mass of loss currently in progress .
Pretty hard to measure that. And a loss of any species is a travesty, let alone the numbers that have been projected.
I’m so happy to hear they are making a comeback. My partner Tegan, who passed, lived in Hamilton and she told all about them and their decline.
Sorry to hear of your loss! Yes, it's an amazing tale isn't it!
Not much to do with the topic, but funnily enough, I read first time about the Chatham Islands a couple of days ago, in the book Guns, Germs and Steel.
Nice -- I'd forgotten they were in there.
The biodiversity and climate crises definitely need to be tackled together, and human population growth is the key driver behind the threats involved in both.
Absolutely!
Love the story of the black robin. If we just try, we can do this.
It's such an amazing story isn't it! My wife grew up in the 80s on the Chathams. Her dad worked with Don Merton on black robins over there. I believe a black robin was even named after her.
Now that’s cool. And your photo is perfect. Great that they were able to get rid of predators on those islands. We’re soon headed to Kauai, where they have a bizarre fight going on over feral cats:
https://www.facebook.com/CountyofKauai/posts/aloha-we-have-been-receiving-many-messages-regarding-the-feral-cat-population-at/946239007539355/.
That is bizarre!
The only species that will disappear for sure is the Human Species.
Well, that's far from certain. We have a lot to do, but it's not a lost cause.