What has nature ever done for us? The Green Fix on biodiversity
The secret ingredient to sustaining life on Earth for the future. Also, the news.
My grandfather gave me a birdwatching book when I was younger. He had a great talent for recognising birds from their sound.
I can’t do that. Firstly, because I have always lived in cities and not in rural Devon. I can identify, at best, how far away construction work is being done.
But also because many of those birds won’t be there when I’m in my seventies. Or thirties. There is a dreadful silence settling across the hedgerows and woodlands.
The Oxford Junior Dictionary caused uproar a couple of years ago by removing acorn and bluebell from its dictionary.
We depend on nature. We look back at childhood memories in the countryside with nostalgia and we set our screensavers to pictures of trees. We use apps to recreate forest sounds. Does your idea of paradise have a skyscraper in it?
We idealise nature, we covet nature, and we destroy nature.
We can turn the tide on the loss of species. We can bring the birds back to the hedges. We have the tools and the knowledge to do it - after all, many indigenous communities have coexisted with nature for millennia. It’s time to rewild, restore, and relearn how to live with biodiversity.
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What’s Going On?
US President Biden has issued a dizzying array of executive orders for climate action since taking his presidency.
Relevant: What is Biden’s climate plan?The French government has been found guilty of ‘climate inaction’ in a groundbreaking court case.
Useful: The rise of activists taking legal action for the climate.Kenya launches $34 million project to tackle effects of climate change.
Relevant: How is climate change affecting Africa?Environmental activists are (literally) going underground to protest the construction of the new HS2 railway.
Relevant: What is HS2 and why are people protesting it?[you may have missed] An Oxfam report found that the ten richest men increased their profits by half a trillion dollars since the start of the pandemic, while millions of people worldwide are thrown into poverty.
Useful: How does COVID-19 increase inequality?
Focus On… Biodiversity
Environmental scientist Gwen Lynn explains why diversity is the key to sustainability.
I'm Gwen Lynn, founder of In A Green Minute, Environmental Safety Consultants, with a BS & MS in Environmental Safety Sciences. I work in the USA in construction safety and environmental monitoring of air, soil and water. I also create 60 second videos on the environment and green issues.
What does 'biodiversity' actually mean?
Biodiversity is simply the different life in the world. For instance, in my home there is 1 senior female, 1 adult female, 1 female dog, 1 female cat, and numerous plants.
Biodiversity is important to sustain or maintain life and quality of life for yourself and future generations. If the world was all female humans (or males), the likelihood of reproduction is none.
If everyone was the same, same genes and look, a highly transmissible disease could wipe us out. The more varied a species or ecosystem is, the more resilient it is.
[Related: 5 reasons why biodiversity is a big deal]
One million species are at risk of extinction. Why are species going extinct?
Species are going extinct due to loss of their homes in the wild (habitat loss and urban sprawl, the destruction of natural spaces for construction and industry, climate change making habitats unsuitable), loss of genetic differences, poaching, trafficking or illegal relocation of species.
The Northern white rhino was lost by these last 3 factors. Poachers took many of them simply for their horns. There are 2 females of this species left in the world.
[Related: What is urban sprawl?]
Is there a lack of diversity in science sectors? Why does this matter?
Yes, there is a lack of diversity in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths).
It matters because our Earth is diverse and STEM should reflect our Earth and the community on it. When white men make the decisions, you get what white men want.
Globally, and particularly in the USA, this lack of diversity has been a problem for centuries. When I worked in China as an Environmental Observer, I was asked repeatedly "Why is America so good at innovation?". We put a man on the moon, invented transistors, etc.
My answer was our diversity. When the same people call the sky blue, we call the sky light blue, pale blue, greyish blue etc. Those differences are our strength.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to protect biodiversity?
To protect biodiversity, start with sustaining your own diverse lifestyle. Do you have friends who are all shapes, sizes, colors and sexes and sexualities? If not, find some and get to know them, socially and professionally.
Our differences make us shine. We respectfully compete with each other to make life, a process, engineering - almost everything - better. We are basically the same, but we see things and think about things slightly differently, and when all these different approaches come together, it’s magical.
Apply the same approach to biodiversity by observing your environment - the small different approaches are crucial. Do you litter? Do you try to save energy by walking or taking the bus? Do you have an indoor plant?
Branch out into the community: shop locally, visit or volunteer at a no-kill animal shelter, visit a nature trail, park or small petting zoo, and bring a friend. Learn not from a book, but from your own experience. Help spread the word through social media and your community that if we take care of the earth and its biological life, the Earth will indeed take care of us.
You can follow Gwen Lynn on Instagram or Twitter at @inagreenminute, and by using the hashtag #inagreenminute.
So Now What Do I Do?
LEARN MORE
Read: How to reverse global wildlife loss by 2050, according to science.
Check out this interactive map showing a ‘safety net’ of areas in the world that need conservation to stop biodiversity loss.
Sign up to these free online courses on Ecology and Wildlife Conservation, and Human Impact in Natural Environments.
TRY SOMETHING NEW
Make your home nature-friendly with the Wildlife Trusts' comprehensive guide.
Support charities working on conservation. Here’s 10 of them, plus ways you can get involved.
Get involved with Earth Speakr, an app/website where kids around the world share their messages on saving the Earth, and adults can amplify them.
CHANGE THE SYSTEM
The 22nd May is the International Day for Biological Diversity - mark it in your calendars and spread awareness on the day (and before, and after!)
Take part in the EU’s public consultation for feedback on its proposed targets to restore nature by 2030. (If you’re not sure what to say, here’s what 20 NGOs are asking for).
One for students: Apply for the Millennium Fellowship before the 28th February for a semester-long program in leadership training for sustainability.
By the way…
Those of you craving some thought-provoking debate should check out Know All Sides, a weekly newsletter that shares multiple perspectives and challenges your biases on a different social issue in each edition. This week, they will touch upon both sides of the vaccine debate.
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