Scientists unanimous on pending biodiversity collapse.In a new survey of nearly 600 published researchers, 99.5% forecast serious losses in biodiversity. An overwhelming majority of 80% also agreed that human activities are causing the decline, with tropical coral reefs that are vulnerable to ocean acidification due to greenhouse gases being ranked most likely to see extinctions first.
Lead author Dr. Murray Rudd with the University of York in the UK stated, "The extremely high level of consensus demonstrated by these results underlines the urgency of preventing further damage to the natural world."
Dr. Rudd, we thank you and your colleagues for this study that alerts us further to the dangers of human-caused climate change and the fragile state of our Earth. May humanity act without delay to restore our balance with nature so that all beings on the planet may flourish once more.
In a November 2010 video message presented during a climate change conference in the United Kingdom, Supreme Master Ching Hai spoke of an effective way to halt threats to global biodiversity.
Supreme Master Ching Hai’s video message “Leaders Preserving Our Future: Pace and Priorities on Climate Change” Westminster, London, UK – November 3, 2010
A recent study by the United Nations found that plants and animals are now disappearing at up to 1,000 times the natural background rate of extinction, with vital life-supporting ecosystems that could soon be irreversibly damaged.
The livestock industry is the leading cause of an alarming decline in wild species. In an October 2010 study, Dutch researchers found that protecting natural areas is not sufficient to stop these fast extinctions of flora and fauna; rather, one of the most effective policies is changing to a no-animal diet, meaning plant-based food.
So if we stop all animal products – fish, egg, meat, and dairy – we will save the oceans, save the climate; and we could halt also biodiversity loss.
http://news.mongabay.com/2011/1108-hance_survey_extinction.html http://theconversation.edu.au/conservation-scientists-agree-serious-loss-of-biodiversity-to-come-4221 Extra NewsAn article published on Nov 19, 2011 in The Citizen daily newspaper cited a study by the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute, which found that the nation's protected areas such as the Serengeti National Park have lost up to 50% of their herbivorous animals due to human-caused habitat loss.
http://thecitizen.co.tz/editorial-analysis/-/17189-factors-behind-loss-of-biodiversity-in-tanzania