The rich diversity of life on Earth is being lost at an alarming rate. Today, catastrophic impacts for people and our planet loom closer than ever, affecting our own health and well-being.
The Earth’s wildlife is struggling to survive. Polar bears are losing their footing on shrinking sea ice, orangutans are scrambling for a safe place in their dwindling habitat, elephants face poachers’ guns and conflicts with people over space and resources.
The Earth’s forests are disappearing. An area roughly the size of California is gone, lost to global deforestation between 2004 and 2017. The Earth’s fresh water systems are in danger from forces such as climate change. The Earth’s oceans face growing threats. Half of all coral reefs and mangroves are gone. Hundreds of thousands of marine mammals, seabirds and turtles are captured each year, along with sharks. One out of three fish stocks is over fished. And plastic pollutes our oceans. Around the globe, food production, distribution, management and waste threatens wildlife, wild places and the planet itself. Today, 7.3 billion people use up to 1.6 times what the Earth’s natural resources can supply.
The looming threat endangering every living thing on Earth is a climate crisis that is raging. Sea levels are rising, increasing the risk of erosion, flooding and extreme storms in coastal areas around the globe. Heat waves are happening more often, fanning the flames of wildfires, putting stress on wildlife habitats, and driving droughts that threaten crops and water security. Rivers are regularly hitting flood levels that once were considered very rare events.
There is absolutely no time to lose, we are at a crossroads, and we must take these warnings seriously. We need a healthy planet to survive, but if we don’t all change the way we are living, we risk destroying our home. We need innovative conservation efforts. The Earth’s cry for survival couldn’t be any louder.
Patricia Marks
Wilkes-Barre