Today is World Environment Day, a day in which the UN stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and encourages political attention and action. The theme of WED 2010 is “Many Species. One Planet. One Future.“, which celebrates the incredible diversity of life that Earth supports, as part of the 2010 International Year for Biodiversity.
Biodiversity, the variety of life on Earth, is essential to sustaining the living networks and systems that provide us all with vital services our lives depend on. We rely on this diversity of life to provide us with the food, fuel, medicine and other essentials we simply cannot live without. Yet this rich diversity is being lost at a greatly accelerated rate because of human activities.
Did you know that there are an estimated 5 to 100 million species on the planet, but scientists have only managed to identify 2 million so far? There still is so much left to discover, yet species are disappearing before we even have a chance to discover them. In addition to our contributions of greenhouse gas emissions to global warming, other human activities such as clear-cutting forests, development and overfishing are also endangering much of life on Earth. Humans have greatly sped up the rate of extinction—up to 1000 times the natural rate. At present, a total of 17,291 species of plants and animals are threatened with extinction. We need to make changes to reduce the rate of biodiversity loss now.
What is biodiversity?
Biodiversity (biological diversity) reflects the number, variety and variability of living organisms and how these change from one location to another and over time. Biodiversity includes diversity within species (genetic diversity), between species (species diversity), and between ecosystems (ecosystem diversity).
Biodiversity is important in all ecosystems, not only in those that are “natural” such as national parks or natural preserves, but also in those that are managed by humans, such as farms and plantations, and even urban parks. It is the basis of the multiple benefits provided by ecosystems to humans.
Why is biodiversity important to us?
Biodiversity is essential for the benefits the ecosystems can provide to humans and hence for human well-being. These ecosystem services go beyond raw materials, and also include clean water, food security, health, and energy security.
What factors lead to biodiversity loss?
Some of the key drivers include land use change, climate change, invasive species, overexploitation, pollution, and changes in human population, incomes or lifestyle. Historically, habitat and land use change have had the biggest impact on biodiversity in all ecosystems, but climate change and pollution are projected to increasingly affect all aspects of biodiversity.
What can you do to help?
Use less and act more. Make changes in your daily life such as:
- Don’t letting the tap run while shaving, washing your face, or brushing your teeth.
- Use an electric razor or hand razor with replaceable blades instead of disposable razors to cut back on waste.
- When packing your lunch, opt for reusable containers for food storage instead of wrapping the food with aluminum foil or plastic wrap.
- When deciding what you’re going to eat for the day, go vegan once a week. Many people may not know this, but raising animals for food generates a considerable amount of greenhouse gases!
- Do you have a morning hot drink routine? Using a washable mug is an environmentally-friendly alternative to non-biodegradable styrofoam or plastic cups.
- Lower your office’s carbon footprint by seeing computers, monitors, printers, copiers, speakers and other business equipment to their energy saving feature and turning them off at the end of the day.
- When cooking dinner, match the size of the pan to the size of the heating element to lower energy wastage.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Just found your blog and I like it. Great suggestions for conservation, all simple and very easy to implement. Of course the most important to lessen our overall imprint is to consume less. Can’t wait to see more, I will return, thank you.
Bill:www.wildramblings.com
Thanks Bill. It is important for us to consume less, and to recycle as well. I recently wrote an article for a local newspaper on the effects of building an incinerator alongside a wetland, and the background research was really enlightening. Ever since, I’ve been EXTRA mindful about recycling and what I use.