Habitat Loss

 

As U.N. Warns Of Widespread Extinction, California Is Already Losing Species. According to Los Angeles Times, “A new United Nations report warning of a global extinction crisis identifies three parts of the world in particular danger: South America, Africa and parts of Asia. But there are signs of struggle everywhere, notably in California. Though the state boasts some of the most diverse plant and animal life in the United States, California has more than 300 endangered species, from the delta smelt to the birds of the Mojave Desert. Many are imperiled by loss of habitat, rising ocean temperatures and rural and urban areas’ demand for ever-increasing amounts of fresh water. Worldwide, the U.N. assessment found that of an estimated 8 million plant and animal species, about 1 million are on the brink of extinction because of the damage humans are inflicting on the Earth through global warming, logging, farming, mining and other activities. It was compiled by 145 expert authors from 50 countries.” [Los Angeles Times, 5/7/19 (+)]

 

The Trump Administration's Policies Are Fueling The Extinction Crisis. According to Pacific Standard, “The Earth’s life support systems are in precipitous decline, mass wildlife extinction is on the rise, and the very underpinnings of human society are in peril. That was the grave message hundreds of the world’s leading scientists sent on Monday when they released the initial summary of a forthcoming 1,500-page report on the biodiversity crisis that threatens ecosystems across the globe. Backed by the United Nations and more than 130 countries around the world, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystems Services (IPBES) found in its shocking summary that ‘around 1 million species already face extinction, many within decades, unless action is taken to reduce the intensity of drivers of biodiversity loss.’ This vast crisis, the assessment found, is being driven by logging, mining, overfishing, farming, invasive species, pollution, and other forms of land destruction, which have already ‘significantly altered’ 75 percent of the Earth’s land surface and destroyed 85 percent of the world’s wetlands. Though caused in part by climate change, the biodiversity crisis is its own distinct problem and it poses an existential threat to human civilization.” [Pacific Standard, 5/7/19 (+)]

 

Science Says: Why Biodiversity Matters To You. According to Associated Press, “You may go your entire life without seeing an endangered species, yet the globe’s biodiversity crisis threatens all of humanity in numerous unseen or unrecognized ways, scientists say. A massive United Nations report this week warned that nature is in trouble, estimated 1 million species are threatened with extinction if nothing is done and said the worldwide deterioration of nature is everybody’s problem. ‘Nature is essential for human existence and good quality of life,’ the report said. Food, energy, medicine, water, protection from storms and floods and slowing climate change are some of the 18 ways nature helps keep people alive, the report said. And it concluded 14 of those are on long-term declining trends. ‘You destroy nature and it’s going to bite you back,’ Duke University ecology Stuart Pimm said, pointing to how difficult it has been for China to recover from decades of forest loss. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) report points to more than 2,500 wars and other conflicts over fossil fuels, water, food and land to show how important nature is.” [Associated Press, 5/7/19 (+)]

 

Op-Ed: We’re In Danger Of Killing Off The Biodiversity That Makes Our Way Of Life Possible. According to The Washington Post, “On Monday, the United Nations released a report declaring that upwards of 1 million plant and animals forms of life are on track to become extinct within the next several decades, as a result of human activity. ‘Grave impacts on people around the world are now likely,’ the report dryly summarized. As Robert Watson, the British scientist in charge of the report, explained, ‘We are indeed threatening the potential food security, water security, human health and social fabric’ of our lives. Translation: We are killing off the life that makes human life possible. Unless we change our ways fast, our existence is going to become increasingly precarious. And not surprisingly, we’re not approaching this fast-coming catastrophe with anything near the urgency it needs. Biodiversity is all life on Earth, from blue whales to the flies that buzz about us. It’s the fish and large mammals many of us eat, but also the flora that protects the streams and oceans, and the microorganisms we cannot see but are vital for health of the planet. Many species are in increased jeopardy as a result of human actions such as industrial agriculture and claiming wetlands for real estate development. As a result, an ever increasing number are likely to die off within a matter of decades. This is separate from the impact of climate change, though climate change does worsen the situation by causing even further damage to the ecosystem. As The Post’s Darryl Fears put it, ‘The warming climate is a major driver that is exacerbating the effects of overfishing, widespread pesticide use, pollution and urban expansion into the natural world.’ All that, in turn, also kills off unique forms of life.” [The Washington Post, 5/7/19 (+)]

 

Op-Ed: Nearly 40 Percent Of Species Worldwide Face Extinction — Unless We Reverse Wildlife Crisis. According to The Hill, “Wildlife cannot speak for itself, but the facts about our actions, as humans, and the effects they’re having on wildlife are screaming out for attention and action. From habitat loss and invasive species to impacts from climate change and toxic pollution, our world is becoming less and less hospitable for iconic species and backyard icons alike. A new Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services report has vividly highlighted the crisis we’ve created and our responsibility to reverse the world and America’s wildlife crisis. According to the new report, up to 1 million animal and plant species are facing extinction in the coming decades — nearly 40 percent of all species — and require urgent conservation action. The report also found that the average abundance of native species in most major land-based habitats has fallen by at least one-fifth over the past century. These alarming facts are mirrored by what we see here in the United States where more than one-third of our fish and wildlife species are at-risk of becoming extinct. We have already lost more than 150 species that are presumed extinct and another 500 species are missing in action. State fish and wildlife agencies have identified more than 13,000 species of greatest conservation need. We’re losing ground, fast.” [The Hill, 5/7/19 (+)]

 

Endangered Species

 

Grijalva Bill Seeks Permanent Grizzly Protections. According to E&E News, “House Natural Resources Chairman Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) yesterday introduced legislation that would permanently protect grizzly bears and grant Native American tribes a say in how they are managed. The bill, H.R. 2532, seeks to protect grizzlies outside of already federally protected ranges by making it illegal to kill a bear unless doing so ‘is imminently necessary for self-defense or to save the life of a person in immediate danger.’ The ‘Tribal Heritage and Grizzly Bear Protection Act’ would ban trophy hunting and ‘non-discriminatory predator control measures that may result in taking of grizzly bears on public land,’ it says. The bill would exempt grizzlies that are already in a ‘population’ that is listed under the Endangered Species Act as threatened or endangered, and thus already protected. The issue of which grizzly populations should be protected has become a flashpoint after the Trump administration in 2017 attempted to roll back ESA protections for the Yellowstone grizzly bear population. The Fish and Wildlife Service determined it had significantly recovered and no longer needed federal protection.” [E&E News, 5/8/19 (=)]

 

Battle Over Sage Grouse Habitat Heats Up In The West. According to UPI, “Four years after the United States hailed reduced threats to the greater sage grouse in the West as the largest land conservation effort in U.S. history, government and conservation groups are in a tug of war. On one side is the Trump administration, with Interior Secretary David Bernhardt approving new land-management plans. On the other are conservation groups suing to stop the plans over concerns they will weaken sage grouse protections and open the lands to uses such as oil and gas drilling that could destroy sage grouse habitat in seven states: Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Nevada, California and Oregon. The states of Idaho and Utah have intervened on the side of the federal government. ‘The Trump plans pretty much eliminate any of the required protections and even some of the goal statements and objectives that were in the Obama plans to help move sage grouse habitat toward a healthy state and support a sage grouse recovery,’ said Erik Molvar, executive director of the Western Watersheds Project, which with the Center for Biological Diversity, WildEarth Guardians and Prairie Hills Audubon Society filed a motion April 19 seeking an injunction of the new plans.” [UPI, 5/7/19 (=)]

 

 

 

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