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The Northern Muriqui was added to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's "red list" of endangered species in 2019, and has been classified as "critically endangered." (Photo: Leonardo Mercon/VW Pics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
As the United Nations unveiled Monday a draft proposal to address threats to biodiversity, a new report outlined a strategy for U.S.-focused "visionary action to save life on Earth."
The roadmap (pdf) was released Monday by the Center for Biological Diversity. It lays out specific steps for the United States to help end the global extinction crisis.
From the ongoing "insect apocalypse" to the deterioration of "ecosystems on which we and all other species depend" to the hurtling of roughly one million plant and animal species to the brink of extinction, the need for swift and far-reaching action is clear.
"The presence of wildlife brings joy and enriches us all--and each extinction makes our home a lonelier and colder place for us and future generations," the report states.
The weight of the problem is matched in the new publication's title: Saving Life on Earth (pdf).
"Humans have never witnessed the profound level of wildlife losses unfolding in front of us right now," said Tierra Curry, a scientist at the Center.
While the problem is global in scope, the report calls on the U.S. to be a leader in addressing the issue. The report lists five broad policy changes to kickstart that effort:
Woven into those categories, which include congressional actions like expanding "the boundaries of most national parks so that they are ecologically viable and also resilient to threats like climate change," are 10 actions the president should take on their own:
Despite wide scope of the problem, all is not bleak. "It is not too late to save the world's natural heritage from annihilation," the report states. The publication points to brights spots such as dam removals that have helped restore salmon and other migratory fish and the rebounding of the bald eagle in the lower 48 after the population was decimated by the use of DDT.
The price tag for the ambitions roadmap? $100 billion--just a fraction of the $738 billion military spending bill that a bipartisan Congress passed last month.
The report breaks down how the $100 billion should be allocated:
"We are the first human generations to fully understand the consequences of mass extinction," report states. "The question now is simply, will we act to stop it?"
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As the United Nations unveiled Monday a draft proposal to address threats to biodiversity, a new report outlined a strategy for U.S.-focused "visionary action to save life on Earth."
The roadmap (pdf) was released Monday by the Center for Biological Diversity. It lays out specific steps for the United States to help end the global extinction crisis.
From the ongoing "insect apocalypse" to the deterioration of "ecosystems on which we and all other species depend" to the hurtling of roughly one million plant and animal species to the brink of extinction, the need for swift and far-reaching action is clear.
"The presence of wildlife brings joy and enriches us all--and each extinction makes our home a lonelier and colder place for us and future generations," the report states.
The weight of the problem is matched in the new publication's title: Saving Life on Earth (pdf).
"Humans have never witnessed the profound level of wildlife losses unfolding in front of us right now," said Tierra Curry, a scientist at the Center.
While the problem is global in scope, the report calls on the U.S. to be a leader in addressing the issue. The report lists five broad policy changes to kickstart that effort:
Woven into those categories, which include congressional actions like expanding "the boundaries of most national parks so that they are ecologically viable and also resilient to threats like climate change," are 10 actions the president should take on their own:
Despite wide scope of the problem, all is not bleak. "It is not too late to save the world's natural heritage from annihilation," the report states. The publication points to brights spots such as dam removals that have helped restore salmon and other migratory fish and the rebounding of the bald eagle in the lower 48 after the population was decimated by the use of DDT.
The price tag for the ambitions roadmap? $100 billion--just a fraction of the $738 billion military spending bill that a bipartisan Congress passed last month.
The report breaks down how the $100 billion should be allocated:
"We are the first human generations to fully understand the consequences of mass extinction," report states. "The question now is simply, will we act to stop it?"
As the United Nations unveiled Monday a draft proposal to address threats to biodiversity, a new report outlined a strategy for U.S.-focused "visionary action to save life on Earth."
The roadmap (pdf) was released Monday by the Center for Biological Diversity. It lays out specific steps for the United States to help end the global extinction crisis.
From the ongoing "insect apocalypse" to the deterioration of "ecosystems on which we and all other species depend" to the hurtling of roughly one million plant and animal species to the brink of extinction, the need for swift and far-reaching action is clear.
"The presence of wildlife brings joy and enriches us all--and each extinction makes our home a lonelier and colder place for us and future generations," the report states.
The weight of the problem is matched in the new publication's title: Saving Life on Earth (pdf).
"Humans have never witnessed the profound level of wildlife losses unfolding in front of us right now," said Tierra Curry, a scientist at the Center.
While the problem is global in scope, the report calls on the U.S. to be a leader in addressing the issue. The report lists five broad policy changes to kickstart that effort:
Woven into those categories, which include congressional actions like expanding "the boundaries of most national parks so that they are ecologically viable and also resilient to threats like climate change," are 10 actions the president should take on their own:
Despite wide scope of the problem, all is not bleak. "It is not too late to save the world's natural heritage from annihilation," the report states. The publication points to brights spots such as dam removals that have helped restore salmon and other migratory fish and the rebounding of the bald eagle in the lower 48 after the population was decimated by the use of DDT.
The price tag for the ambitions roadmap? $100 billion--just a fraction of the $738 billion military spending bill that a bipartisan Congress passed last month.
The report breaks down how the $100 billion should be allocated:
"We are the first human generations to fully understand the consequences of mass extinction," report states. "The question now is simply, will we act to stop it?"