Related Posts
International biodiversity news: UN and EU take steps to preserve ecosystems
2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity, under the auspices of the UN and the Convention on Biological...
UN biodiversity chief: Destroy nature, increase poverty and insecurity
In advance of a major UN meeting for the Convention on Biological Diversity, the organization’s secretary-general, Ahmed Djoghlaf,...
UN’s Third Global Biodiversity Outlook ReportThe world faces a critical tipping point and potentially irreversible damage, according to a new warning from the...
UN meetings highlight biodiversity loss and looming food crisis
According to recent estimates, species are disappearing at 1,000 times the natural rate due to human activity and...
UN launches International Year of Biodiversity in response to global species loss
The strains of human civilization take their toll on the natural environment in many ways – not least...
Tip of the Day
Go grocery shopping locally to help reduce your carbon footprint
Add biodiversity to the list of important things no one gives a sh*t about
photo by Anita363 (Flickr CC)
Environmentalists, NGOs, relatively progressive governments and the UN made a lot of noise about climate change a couple of years ago. Nothing really happened. Then 2010 was hailed by the United Nations as the “Year of Biodiversity” in order to draw awareness to the catastrophic loss of natural resources, which global ecosystems (including humanity) depend on for little things like livelihood and survival.
But comfort, convenience and promises of wealth trump doomsday scenarios every time. Just like with climate change, governments are failing to significantly act on biodiversity loss. Large corporations couldn’t give a toss, because they make money from it – at least for the moment. And the public doesn’t even know what the hell it is. Many think biodiversity is a kind of washing powder.
OK, it’s not quite fair to say that no one cares. A survey in the UK by Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) found that 78% are worried about the loss of native species in Britain. On the other hand:
Researchers found that 18% of respondents know “a lot” about biodiversity in 2011 compared with 20% in 2009; 30% know “a little” compared with 24%; 18% have “only heard the name” compared with 21%; and 31% haven’t even heard of it, down from 32%.
Read more on that story in the Guardian.
Maybe the UN should hire a Don Draper-like Madison Avenue wordsmith to sell biodiversity to the Starbucks-addled masses of Western consumerism. Or at least fire their current adman and hire one that knows about Twitter, Tumblr, iPhones and other stuff people give a sh*t about.
To inspire yourself a bit, see these recent articles and multimedia items on biodiversity and conservation.
Deutsche Welle: An interactive journey into the rainforest
CNN article and slideshow on newly discovered creatures
Green Wise Business Magazine: The risks of biodiversity loss to the UK
Tags: biodiversity, biodiversity loss, Climate change, UK, UN
3 Comments
You can also log in to post a comment.
Other Greenfudge.org posts
Video: Florida Keys threatened by Gulf oil spill
Though no oil from the Deepwater Horizon oilrig disaster has reached the Florida Keys – a chain of 17,000 islands, which lies south of Miami and dividing the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico – the looming threat from the spill already casts its shadow. The Keys, a popular tourist destination, are home to rich and diverse ecosystems. If and when oil from the disaster reaches the islands, it is not known exactly what the extent of the damage to...
New Greenpeace Director Comes Armed With Experience
Greenpeace now has a new director, and one with years of experience in the field. Kumi Naidoo, 44, is the first African director of this great organization and also the first executive director to come from outside of the organization (i.e. he wasn’t promoted from within). He is certainly passionate about the work he does, however. In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, he said “we either get it right and all of humanity comes out on the other side...
Coral Reefs Save Us Billions, But Not For Long
Did you know that coral reefs can save us at least $172 billion per year? No? Well, did you know that through climate change, political inertia and ecosystem destruction, we are actually losing that money? That’s right, coral reefs are on the brink of collapse, and because we are quite responsible for their death, we are losing economically, as well. Pavan Sukhdev, an ecological economist from the World Conservation Monitoring Centre of UNEP in Cambridge, stated that "The entire ecosystem is...
“Live in Harmony with Nature” at Sweden’s New Treehotel
Did you ever have (or want) a tree house when you were a kid? If so, then you might be interested in new accommodations available in Sweden. Located in the village of Harads (about 60 km south of the Arctic Circle), the Treehotel offers some rather unique and eco-friendly lodgings for the world traveler, or locals wanting to get away for a while. There are 6 rooms available, each with a different design and theme; plus a tree sauna—making this the...
Another environmental conundrum: Emissions vs. conservation or high-speed rail vs. air travel
A lot of conservation seems to be about 'spoiling nice views' rather than more pragmatic ecological or environmental concerns. More specifically, grass roots political opposition to energy or transportation infrastructure projects that also have environmental aims often stems from such projects' potential to spoil rich peoples' nice views. For example, the opposition to wind turbines in wealthy, picturesque parts of American states like Cape Cod in Massachusetts, or in various country retreats in the U.K. is rarely related to practical...
Oil spill cover-up in Egypt’s Red Sea?
Last month an oil spill was discovered in Egypt’s Red Sea by Egyptian authorities. The spill polluted a stretch of coastline dotted with popular tourist resorts. According to a Reuters Africa report, the Egyptian oil minister has claimed that none of the 188 oil platforms in the Gulf of Suez are responsible for the spill and that the oil may have come from water used to clean out a tanker. Local environmental groups are skeptical of the Egyptian government’s claims and are...
Bonn climate talks news: 10 more years to seal the deal; row over logging
The UN climate talks taking place in Bonn, Germany this week are not proving to be a source of positive news for the global environment. An binding agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions sufficiently enough to avoid the risk of runaway global warming and climate change were meant to be the goal of last December's climate talks in Copenhagen. But according to the outgoing UN climate chief, this will probably take at least 10 more years. Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of...
The biofuels controversy continues: should we get off the bandwagon?
“One groundbreaking new study in Science concluded that when this deforestation effect is taken into account, corn ethanol and soy biodiesel produce about twice the emissions of gasoline.” - Michael Grunwald, Time I recently wrote an article about Indonesia’s bad biofuel industry, which is based on palm oil, resulting in mass deforestation via intense CO₂ producing slash and burn methods. One of the main problems was not Indonesia’s environmental policy per se, but that the laws are nowhere near being sufficiently...
Coal Power: Damages the Environment, the Economy, and Lives
Coal does a massive amount of damage to the environment everyday. It is responsible for high greenhouse gas emissions, crop and timber damage, is an extreme air pollutant and causes many health risks, like asthma, chronic bronchitis and cardiovascular disease. All of this damage costs the US alone at least $62 billion per year. The National Academy of Sciences released a report that entails a study of 406 coal plants, which create a combined 95% of the nation’s coal-burned electricity. The...
Elephant Calf Born Alive, Despite Predictions of Death
Life and death work in mysterious ways and one recent incident in Sydney’s Taronga Zoo is proof of that. An Asian Elephant gave birth yesterday to a healthy, living, baby boy. Two days ago, you wouldn’t have known that. Two days ago, zookeepers and veterinarians both declared the elephant calf dead inside the womb. Apparently, the mother had gone through 6 days of labor, but nothing happened. Even the ultrasounds showed no possible chance of a successful birth. Well, it would seem...
View all articles
Yes I forgot to tell that either you’ll bring your own bag or force to buy this eco canvass bag which is washable.
at first I am one of those who will end up buying the eco bag, until I finally make it a habit to bring my own..
Very cool. Maybe they can make it every day eventually
The number one mall here in the Phillippines the SM mall has this ongoing campaign. It is a non plastic bag day every Wednesday. Imagine a mall would rest for a day using plastic bag and this is simultaneously applied to all the other branches. It’s not easy to shift over night for the things we have been used to, but it is certainly doable….if you have the power, resources and influence to make a channel for a great change use it…