Threats to Biodiversity
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“Extinction is the most irreversible and tragic of all environmental calamities. With each plant and animal species that disappears, a precious part of creation is callously erased.” -Michael Soulé (link is external), noted American conservation biologist
It is estimated that the current rate of species extinction is between 1,000 and 100,000 times more rapid than the average rate during the last several billion years. The growth of human populations, consumption levels, and mobility is the root of most of the serious threats to biodiversity today.
While learning about the negative impacts of humans on biodiversity, please keep a few things in mind. First, it is rare that humans intend to make a species go extinct, or to threaten biodiversity in some other way. Usually, those impacts are the unfortunate by-products of people trying to provide a decent living for themselves or to serve some other purpose. Second, in the last 30 years or so, efforts to protect and preserve biodiversity have expanded exponentially. We will explore those efforts later in the module. As you learn about the current threats to biodiversity, resist the temptation to conclude that humans are simply foolish or short-sighted or greedy, and instead consider the larger pressures and systems that lead toward biodiversity loss.