Many people will find hope in the topic of this article, that someone has identified yet another of the symptoms of laissez-faire capitalism as a magnificent crime and is building another wart on the back of the godzilla monster to try to slow it down. The author labeled biodiversity loss a tragedy while it's really a crime because it is due to diabolical distraction/neglect.

These people are looking for hope in the wrong place, and that too can become not a tragedy but a crime when committed over and over in the face of evidence that it isn't working.

People are failing to look further, beyond the cyclic failure, because they "don't need to". They "don't need to" because the instructions given to them by the "deciders and influencers" say "getting ahead" and "making it" do not require an advanced understanding of their world. Obedience is everything.

Instead of blind obedience, the people can embrace a hypothesis that there's a better way and, working that hypothesis in their minds, come eventually recognize a better way that is obviously feasible by its similarity with existing systems.

The better way to deal with the problem of laissez-faire capitalism is to put our boot directly on its neck, and squish it. We accomplish this by shifting all of our individual exchange/association away from the power centers and toward our local communities, gradually of course.

So as we busy ourselves exchanging/associating with our neighbors, and enjoying the organic bounty of our local small-scale production, which serves our needs far better than laissez-faire capitalism, nature will resume building its magical biodiversity.

The people will respect biodiversity after they first learn to respect themselves, which they can only do after they learn to DISRESPECT the "deciders and influencers". Let the people have something that is their own - their local communities.

One of the barriers to the capacity to recognize biodiversity is the narrowness of human social excusionism. The huge scale exploitation model is touted as the be all and end all. and it could very well be...all over the world

Hardly reported is that this past week Brazil passed the first Statute on Racial Equality. Still denied are rights of the Quilombolas (descendants of African slaves) to the lands that they settled escaping from slavery they still have to fight for it.

The Indigenous peoples still are waiting for news on the Statute of Indigenous Peoples drafted over a period of year with regional meetings all over Brazil. The former statute written without prior informed consultation had been sitting in process for 15 years.

Loss of Biodiversity = ethnocide
and genocide and is going great guns.

Support indigenous rights if you support biodiversity a good source for information is the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues - Documentation Center for Indigenous Peoples

Individuals can have a good effect on local animal life. Plant enough to share your garden with the animals. Establish bird feeding stations and supply them continuously. Plant fruit trees and share the bounty. Feed corn, oats, and hay during times of stress such as ice and snow. Plant trees that drop hickory nuts, acorns, walnuts, etc. Be careful with walnut trees they have toxic roots that can kill some other trees and disturb your garden if planted too close. Grow plants indigenous to your location such as wildflowers for healthy bee life. Do not use chemicals on you lawn, garden, or other plants such as rose bushes. Tolerate moles as a natural and necessary part of local animal life. Offer rasins to birds such as robins who are too old to migrate. In cold climates provide bird shelters to protect from bitter north winds. If you have room provide animal habitat with tree branches from storms, deadwooding, or trimming. Compost regularly to provide healthy organic garden and potted plant soil. Provide water to plants and animals during times of drought. Build a healthy balance on your land or yard and it will help animal life throughout your area. Take the time to sit out quietly among the animals to enjoy them and take note of their presence and habits. These are things we can all do to promote animal life in our areas and to sustain the natural balance. Be a good friend to your local animals.

This is my main problem with genetic engineering of crops, etc. It's well known that at least 50% of biodiversity loss has been due to 'introduced species' (the rest is habitat loss). 'Introduced species' may be found to outcompete the locals, leading to their extinction, or, more likely, to the extinction of the animals that depend on them (for food, shelter, etc). Genetic engineering is so powerful it has the ability to create, really, new SPECIES from mixing existing ones. Putting 'freeze tolerance' in a crop may be admirable and profitable to a farmer, but the characteristic can easily show up in the natural populations that interbreed with the crop in question, leading to yet another 'introduced species' problem. Until we develop more powerful techniques of preventing this from happening, genetic engineering should probably remain in the laboratory.

"Since the population explosion of modern humans,"

At last the truth comes out.

According to the Galapagos Island Trust there are 14 different sub-species of Geochelone elephantopus, and three of those are believed to be extinct. Of a fourth sub-specie there is one tortoise left. It is believed there are 15,000 left total.

The article was dated 11/21/09, so I'm wondering if the Trust is lying or the author of this article was misinformed.

This article didn't say much regarding the reason(s) for the loss of biodiversity.

Is it assumed the reason is climate change?

Or pollution?

Or GE crops?

Industrialization?

Where I live in the rural American midwest the loss of biodiversity is clearly evident to anyone paying attention, which most are not.

This is one reason why I believe environmental pollution and habitat destruction are more important concerns than global warming. We need to address these issues whether we have global warming or not. Species extinction is happening a lot faster than global warming, and in places and spaces where it is unrelated to global warming, which is one reason it is a more pressing issue.

On the surface things look pretty much like they did half a century ago. The farms are still predominantly corn and beans but on the edges of the fields the flora are changing, and the fields are producing huge swathes of seasonal "superweeds." Beneath the surface, reptiles and amphibians are disappearing at an alarming rate. Pheasants and other ground-dwelling birds, which used to be very common here, are for the most part gone.

There are paradoxical exceptions. I see a lot more wild turkeys than I used to. And deer are proliferating (and even foraging within many city limits in mid-afternoon) while rabbits are losing populations. In one nearby city, raccoons are using the uptown storm sewers as habitat. In other words there are environmental pressures producing unpredictable results.

-30-

rtdrury

your post about knitting to gether a community based effort is the right path. But the problem is, many of ones neighbors are not in touch with any of this. If they are the types that are only concerned with comining home to sit in front of the TV or even if they are concientious enough to do certain constructive acts that at least benefit them directly,it's an up hill battle. You could not really mention you are working with them to fight climate change because many would either laugh or shoo you away as a liberal or just dismiss you. In other words, the effort would just have to be discussed as a community uplift etc. Maybe you could bring people along in this way.

Then again, I am still handing out articles from Common Dreams and Democracy NOw. I do it about two to three days a week. I walk around town, approach people by saying, "Hi, I share alot, this is for you. IF you go on this web site (pointing) you can find articles on other issues that we are dealing with also." MANY and I repeat, MANY people actually thank me. Only some turn me down. I just handed out the one from yesterday about the 8 things Obama can do to improve our food sysytem. Also, the one on the Nuclear Power Fraud and some about Afganistan, "For Afghans,There Is No Refuge

How about giving this planet, bio-diversity and ecology a rest with voluntarily shutting down those fertile loins for a generation to up right this sinking ship. No loss of life but a little loss to our over rated sense of who we are in this scheme of things.

Hey stanwix.

Thanks for the comment but I am not Rtdrury. I was commenting to him. I am theinitiate and I'm the one passing out articles. Yes, there are some copying charges but mostly from my own computer so not so bad. I don't like to have to use so much paper( trees) but the word has to get out somehow.

Euro-Amercian Lifestyle and Maintaining a Livable Biosphere are Opposite Forces.

If one weighs all the current science on the state of our natural world, there is only one conclusion, that there is no solution to maintaining our current lifestyles as well as a livable biosphere. What is being offered to us by industry, governments, politicians, and even the big environmental groups are false solutions that only postpone our doom and that of countless species by a few years.

Real solutions to curb human die off and biological holocaust (for starters):

• A Moratorium on new highway construction
• 80% reduction of man made CO2 & methane releases by 2025
• Build New Rail transportation infrastructure to replace essential highways, freeways, and airline travel throughout the U.S.
• Retool industries that are destroying the biosphere to manufacture components for a new restoration and renewable energy economy
• Re-localization of food production, as well as the manufacturing of essential goods and services to minimize trucking
• A Moratorium on all new fossil and uranium fueled power plants
• A Moratorium on all new airports and airport expansion as well as eventual abolition of commercial airline travel
• Military and aerospace industries will be retooled to manufacture wind turbines, high efficiency appliances and solar technologies
• The Military budgets and personnel will be directed to perform toxic site cleanup (here and abroad), decentralized wind turbine and solar installations, restoration on public lands, and basic energy conservation upgrades to every livable shelter
• Mandate zero release of CFCs, HCFCs, HFCs and methyl bromide
• Mandate zero release of toxics and hormone disrupters into the environment via any manufacturing process or product
• Mandate all non-organic products sold will be reusable or 100% recycled by manufacturer
• Mandate the end of industrial logging, mining, and grazing on public lands and implement Carbon and Biological Reserve system across North America

Green Cars: A False Solution
The manufacturing of hybrid, electric or hydrogen automobiles has a larger environmental footprint than manufacturing conventional gasoline automobiles because of the toxics produced during the manufacture and recycling of the batteries and electronics.

Real Solution: No New Automobiles
• Moratorium on the manufacturing and sale of new automobiles by…. 2015
• End of manufacturing of new light trucks and passenger vehicles that achieve less than 30 MPG by 2011
• Existing autos must meet strict emission standards and will be maintained with new motors and parts

Liquid Biofuels: a false solution and great threat to all ecosystems and the world’s poor.
• Rainforest and grasslands are being destroyed around the globe to grow bio-fuel crops for autos
• Food shortages and riots around the world are already being caused by turning food crops into ethanol
• Genetically engineered microbes for cellulose-to-fuel conversion could create catastrophic harm if accidentally released into the natural world

Real Solutions via Biofuels
• Utilization of waste oils to power public transportation and waste collection fleets within cities
• Biofuels to farmers for food production, food transportation, and food preparation only

This will require a greater economic and social transition than that which occurred during World War II. However, modern lifestyles will be maintained far beyond that of any civilization before that time.
We must ask ourselves: what is a living biosphere worth?
Is it worth giving up luxuries like airline travel, a new car, a big screen TV, a few meals per week containing meat, driving alone to work, and buying food and goods produced more than 200 miles away? Is maintaining a functioning community and a stable biosphere worth giving up these few luxuries?

In Conclusion, the big question remains even if we can accomplish the measures prescribed above, will this be enough to avoid the tipping point where global warming is unstoppable, toxics in the environment are beyond biological tolerances, and the subsequent collapse of civilization by the latter half of the 21st century?

These real solutions may not be enough, however “business as usual” like expanding freeways, airports, cities, as well as the false solutions like “carbon capture” technology, centralized mega wind turbine and solar power stations, tar sands mining and biofuels being offered up by industry, corporations, politicians, and the big environmental groups is a recipe for the ultimate disaster.

Would E.O. Wilson or James Lovelock dare to join us to take such a stand against modern lifestyles and technology for all of life on the planet?
I would hope so but I am not going to hold my breath until that time.

Read a book called, "With Speed And Violence".
Scolarly and well referenced. Archeological evidence of mass extintions, etc.

People are just not concerned about the environment, not for global warming or species loss.

Maybe people would feel more urgent about it if they really knew what was really going on, such as by the television news giving a daily report on at least one of the species that was lost that day;
Or - if they would get clear examples of how ocean rise from global warming will soak coastal areas over and over;
Or - see and hear interviews of the actual victims of cancers from the Tar Sands;
Or - see what a 6oC warmer world would look like;
Or - if they were shown how cascade events will cause runaway global warming.

But no, the people most responsible for the problems of consumerism, the western sheeple, even if they saw all that, they would still drive to the corner store to get their pop and chips so they can sit in front of a TV and empty their minds of all thoughts of the real world... and so it shall be, the human race sat idly by while their world burned, content to have a full stomach [even if 50% of the world is hungry].

Hey! It's just the sixth extinction, which was bound to happen sooner or later with or without human contributions. That's life. That's evolution. That's the way it goes. Once the global ecosystem collapses completely, evolution will likely produce something new and different ("likely" because I don't think we can sterilize the planet of all life), and future paleontologists, if there are any, will wonder over the evidence of our massive, ugly, violent demise. Humans are not important, and life will go on.

We have but two choices: or we cherish or we perish.

I won't give up trying to fix our problems in what ever method I can possibly muster. But at the same time, there is a part of me that really thinks that it is unfixable. Partly because it is so late and also because people just don't get it.
Clear-cut Climate states a good discussion, but I really don't think the general public can conceptualize how to live without luxuries of a fossil fuel economy.

So, my belief is that we will be forced to go back.. the civilization we have now will collapse and IF we are lucky, we will be able to eek out an existance from the earth. But some will be living where the earth is destroyed in one way or another. I'm just keeping this in mind, and doing things that will teach my kids how to surive.
Sometimes I think in these terms. There will always be:

ARIES TYPES: I AM; For ego developement( which we all need for normal functioning) these people experieance life as a competition. They experiance life as situations in which they need to PROVE their identiy. In some way or another, they need to compete. It may not be physical but they need to be first. This could be a sense of being a pioneer, an adventureer or a sportsman of some type. Mars rules people like this and in some way they are warriors. Now, it could be that they are warriors for protecting the enviroment, or they could be protecting our country, as a soilder in the armed forces. But in some way they need to compete, fight and prove something.... An Aries needs to develope an INDEPENTDENCE. These people stay dependant, as an infant and cannot stand up for themselve, if they donot get that positive ego development There ego does not develop to assist them in becoming a mature individual.But, there is a positve method to competition and a very aggressive, negative method.

TAURUS TYPES: I HAVE- These peopole will always need to OWN... Establishing stability is essential to their ego development. The core issue is to establish an inner stability, not necessarily outer, by owning objects or land. But, many individuals do not get to that inner self possesed level. There sense of consistancy and stability comes from FINANCIAL resources that create a stable FOUNDATION for them. The extreme negative is greed.

GEMINI TYPES: I THINK - These people need information input and communication us a main focus for them - for ego development. Learning or cognitive development is a focus in their lives. If positive activities in these areas are not available, then they will have learning problems, or thir communications will focus on trivial, (gossip) and their lives can lack direction,will be scattered, etc. A positive example is a deep concern for learning as in teaching or writing.

CANCER TYPES: - I FEEL: These people need EMOTIONAL stability. Some form of sanctuary, a home, a home land(nationalism) is essential for them to feel secure. Family and ancestral connections are part of the situations necessary for strong ego development. If one does not have this and they were not nurtured in an emotionally consistent way, they will have to struggle with the nurturing attribute during thier life times. The egos focus is on learning to nurture and be nurtured.

You see I have given these examples,sorry to stop at these four but I don't want to over do...) because for a long time I have wanted to make the point that there ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD. Yes, we are all aware of this but it goes even deeper. Sometimes I feel that with all the different types needing to go through what ever they need to to GROW, THAT IS WHAT MAKES GETTING OURSELVES ALL ON THE SAME PAGE, SO DIFFICULT...
Some people need to conquer and they GRAVITATE TO THE NEGATIVE OF THEIR CHART(CHARACTER) some need to own EVERYTHING, AND THEY GRAVITATE TO THE NEGATIVE OF THEIR CHART (CHARACTER) some need to gather infomation and then get lost in the process and find learning difficult. They can't put it together or they cannot interpret what is going on around them so they fall into the negative of their chart (character), Some need to be emotional and stay attached to their ancestral, tribal methods, and there fore fall into the negatives of their charts,(character)self protectionsist.

I'm just saying we hve to get to the COMMON HUMAN SOURCES OF OUR EXISTANCE in order to create a cohesive effort. We cannot fix any of this if we donot UNDERSTATND WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO DIFFERENT PEOPLE OR IF WE CONTINUE TO DIVIDE OURSELVES BECAUSE OF FEAR OF EACH OTHER AND OUR OWN INNER CONFLICTS.

won't give up trying to fix our problems in what ever method I can possibly muster. But at the same time, there is a part of me that really thinks that it is unfixable. Partly because it is so late and also because people just don't get it.
Clear-cut Climate states a good discussion, but I really don't think the general public can conceptualize how to live without luxuries of a fossil fuel economy.

So, my belief is that we will be forced to go back.. the civilization we have now will collapse and IF we are lucky, we will be able to eek out an existance from the earth. But some will be living where the earth is destroyed in one way or another. I'm just keeping this in mind, and doing things that will teach my kids how to surive.
Sometimes I think in these terms. There will always be:

ARIES TYPES: I AM; For ego developement( which we all need for normal functioning) these people experieance life as a competition. They experiance life as situations in which they need to PROVE their identiy. In some way or another, they need to compete. It may not be physical but they need to be first. This could be a sense of being a pioneer, an adventureer or a sportsman of some type. Mars rules people like this and in some way they are warriors. Now, it could be that they are warriors for protecting the enviroment, or they could be protecting our country, as a soilder in the armed forces. But in some way they need to compete, fight and prove something.... An Aries needs to develope an INDEPENTDENCE. These people stay dependant, as an infant and cannot stand up for themselve, if they donot get that positive ego development There ego does not develop to assist them in becoming a mature individual.But, there is a positve method to competition and a very aggressive, negative method.

TAURUS TYPES: I HAVE- These peopole will always need to OWN... Establishing stability is essential to their ego development. The core issue is to establish an inner stability, not necessarily outer, by owning objects or land. But, many individuals do not get to that inner self possesed level. There sense of consistancy and stability comes from FINANCIAL resources that create a stable FOUNDATION for them. The extreme negative is greed.

GEMINI TYPES: I THINK - These people need information input and communication us a main focus for them - for ego development. Learning or cognitive development is a focus in their lives. If positive activities in these areas are not available, then they will have learning problems, or thir communications will focus on trivial, (gossip) and their lives can lack direction,will be scattered, etc. A positive example is a deep concern for learning as in teaching or writing.

CANCER TYPES: - I FEEL: These people need EMOTIONAL stability. Some form of sanctuary, a home, a home land(nationalism) is essential for them to feel secure. Family and ancestral connections are part of the situations necessary for strong ego development. If one does not have this and they were not nurtured in an emotionally consistent way, they will have to struggle with the nurturing attribute during thier life times. The egos focus is on learning to nurture and be nurtured.

You see I have given these examples,sorry to stop at these four but I don't want to over do...) because for a long time I have wanted to make the point that there ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD. Yes, we are all aware of this but it goes even deeper. Sometimes I feel that with all the different types needing to go through what ever they need to to GROW, THAT IS WHAT MAKES GETTING OURSELVES ALL ON THE SAME PAGE, SO DIFFICULT...
Some people need to conquer and they GRAVITATE TO THE NEGATIVE OF THEIR CHART(CHARACTER) some need to own EVERYTHING, AND THEY GRAVITATE TO THE NEGATIVE OF THEIR CHART (CHARACTER) some need to gather infomation and then get lost in the process and find learning difficult. They can't put it together or they cannot interpret what is going on around them so they fall into the negative of their chart (character), Some need to be emotional and stay attached to their ancestral, tribal methods, and there fore fall into the negatives of their charts,(character)self protectionsist.

I'm just saying we hve to get to the COMMON HUMAN SOURCES OF OUR EXISTANCE in order to create a cohesive effort. We cannot fix any of this if we donot UNDERSTATND WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO DIFFERENT PEOPLE OR IF WE CONTINUE TO DIVIDE OURSELVES BECAUSE OF FEAR OF EACH OTHER AND OUR OWN INNER CONFLICTS.

I posted this on another article but it's something I've wanted to explain for a long time...