My daughter is nine, and like most parents I wonder about what kind of world she will find herself an adult in.
A world of our making - that is certain.
Humans have changed planet Earth more keenly and quickly than any species before, and I think the next ten years are going to be make or break time. We have to reel in CO2 emissions, and reset them at a sustainable level where ecological damage can be minimised. We have to stop the production of plastic and its pollution of our seas and lakes and pristine environments. And a lot of other things besides.
These needs are connected - but in more ways than you may imagine. Because while the root cause is connected (fossil fuels being instrumental ingredients in plastic of course), so too is the solution: stop the damage of climate change to Earth's wonderful and varied species (which we are loosing at a shamefully horrifying rate).
You can be forgiven for not seeing the connection if you have missed it. But here it is: many of the scientific breakthroughs made, and still to come, are due to studying and understanding the unique properties of animal, plant and insect species.
For example, I have a condition called Antiphospholipid Syndrome - which means my blood clots easily (long story short do not get deep vein thrombosis - DVT). But because of recent discoveries, the blood thinner I am on now is based upon taipan venom instead of the old rat bait they used to use as medication (the taipan is one of the deadliest snakes on Earth and happily co-exists with us here in Australia). And that has immense benefits because it is a much friendlier drug, believe it or not.
In this vein a recent discovery offers hope for a natural and bio-friendly replacement for plastic. There is a type of Australian bee which creates a natural cellophane-like substance with all sorts of plastic-replication potential (see https://www.techly.com.au/2018/06/14/australian-bee-revolutionise-plastic-waste/). It may literally help us transform our addiction to plastic and solve our collective pollution problem.
The point I am making is a pragmatic one, designed for people who don't think species deserve to live happily in their own way without being arbitrarily made extinct by human actions directly or indirectly (not me).
Seen in this light, the reality is that every species made extinct stops a possible cure for cancer, or brain damage. Potentially stops the discovery of vital science necessary for a mars mission, or eco-friendly agriculture on a large scale. And stops opportunities for countless innovative companies and investors.
Climate change, together with other factors like land clearing and pollution, are causing mass extinctions at an unprecedented rate (not counting cataclysmic events like meteor strike). And they are diminishing humanity's potential to solve the very problems we are creating in our ever-expanding colonisation of our planet in this, Earth's Anthropocene Age (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/what-is-the-anthropocene-and-are-we-in-it-164801414/).
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Photo courtesy of pixabay.com
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