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Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumIn 45 years, we have killed 60% of Earth's wildlife.
Humans have been around for more than 2 million years. But in the last 44 years, we have achieved what we havent in all this while: a mass annihilation of our fellow earthlings. Between 1970 and 2014, Earth lost nearly 60% decline of its mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians, almost all of it due to human activity. The rate at which Earth is losing its biodiversity is comparable only to the mass extinctions. This and other findings have been published by the World Wildlife Fund in its Living Planet Report 2018, a stinging reminder of the declining health of the planet.
Published by WWF every two years, the report documents the state of the planet in terms of biodiversity, ecosystems, the demand on natural resources and its impact on nature and wildlife. This year, its results are even more devastating than ever:
20% of the Amazon has disappeared in just 50 years
On a global scale, the area of minimally disturbed forests declined by 92 million hectares between 2000 and 2013
Of all species that have gone extinct since 1500 AD, 75% were harmed by overexploitation or agriculture
Ocean acidification may be occurring at a rate not seen in at least 300 million years. The Earth is estimated to have lost 50% of its shallow water corals in the past 30 years
Humans are responsible for releasing 100 billion tonnes of carbon into the Earths system every 10 years. In April 2018, levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reached an average of 410 parts per million (ppm) across the entire monththe highest level in at least 800,000 years
Only 25% of land on Earth is substantively free of the impacts of human activities. This is projected to decline to just 10% by 2050
https://www.cntraveller.in/story/45-years-killed-60-earths-wildlife/?fbclid=IwAR0O1AU7thGSWAnH6CWevAAH0gQ4TcnAGrfrnqw4jNMInwZiIhjx6psOMV4
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In 45 years, we have killed 60% of Earth's wildlife. (Original Post)
Cattledog
Jun 2019
OP
Moostache
(9,895 posts)1. The end is nigh...
We have been lied to for DECADES about just how far gone we are...and we're only now starting to realize there is no escape.
The conversation this time a year or two from now will be about how the millions of migrants being starved and killed on borders around the world are simply a cost of surviving on a changed planet.
I wish I was wrong.
I'm not. The facts are in our faces and yards and homes....
MLAA
(17,165 posts)2. Unfortunately,I think we have waited too late.
I expected I would see the end. I am 58, I didnt expect to see it as soon as I now think it will happen.
Edited to fix typo
kat3rinamarquez
(47 posts)3. How cruel we are
I can't imagine how the next generation would look like.