On March 3 1976, the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is signed by the
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with the goal to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants doesn't threaten their survival and it accords varying degrees of protection to more than 33,000 species of animals and plants. (from Wikipedia) Today is what we call here in Germany
Internationaler Artenschutz Tag (International Day for the Protection of Species).
Each year, the IUCN publishes the so-called
Red List to assess the status of the conservation of life on our planet. There are 1.6 million described species on earth and the IUCN's database currently holds information of ca. 45,000 of them. They're put into categories from Least Concern to Extinct. They are: Least Concern, Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered, Extinct in the Wild and Extinct. Out of the 45,000 species registered
Nearly 40% are Threatened (i. e. Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered). You might think that, well, 40% is not that much. It's only ca. 17,000 species, and after all, they're not yet extinct. But if you look back only 12 years to 1996, it was ca. 10,000 species and that is not a trend that's going to change if we're not finally doing something. In addition, we need to help those species recover.
Did you know that the population of the
Northern bluefin tuna has decreased by 90% since 1970? Did you know that according to the WWF there are only 40
Amur Leopards in the wild? Did you know that our oceans will be
empty by the middle of this century if we don't change the way the fishing industry is allowed to operate? Did you know that 350,000 hectares (ca. 870.000 acres) of rain forest in Brazil have been destroyed to grow beans that will be used to feed the cattle of a smallish European country? (And that even though the soil is unsuitable and the soy beans only grow with the help of chemicals and fertilizer.)
The list goes on.
See, the thing is, I'm not saying we all have to switch to soy milk now and that we never can eat (and enjoy) meat again or that everything we eat must be organic. That alone won't solve the problems of extinction of even more species I described earlier. I'm also aware that a good, healthy nutrition can be more expensive than buying food that has been produced through mass production. And I'm aware that not everybody is as lucky as I am to be able to afford more expensive organic meat like I am. But there are so many things a person can do!
So now, like what?
I'd say, first, be aware of the problem! Don't eat animals or plants on the red list. While I believe that no one would eat
Black-footed Ferret, there are so many more animals on the list you weren't even aware of. For example, if you really enjoy eating fish (like I do) be sure to avoid certain species like Spiny dogfish - the shark (!!) used to produce Schillerlocke - or certain types of tuna. You can check with your local WWF what's good to eat and what not or check with the IUCN.
Don't insist on tomatoes during the winter. Try to eat seasonal products from the region. I know that sometimes clementines taste really, really good in winter and that you need the vitamins. I eat them too every once in a while. But climate change (and effectively destroying the natural habitat of animals - polar bears, anybody?) starts with little things. It takes a lot more energy to produce an orange in a greenhouse than producing it your region. Generally, try to be conscious about the energy you use! The red light on your TV indicates that it's only in standby mode. It's still wasting energy!
Educate your friends and family! Try to make them aware of the problems and tell them about environmental organizations. Tell them about where we need to start changing our eating habits. Who knows, soon enough certain things we take for granted will no longer be.
Last but not least, donate money! Be it $1 or $100. It doesn't matter. Every penny counts. There are so, so many organizations that help protect our earth: WWF, IUCN, Greenpeace, etc. etc. There's hundreds of them.
Really, do something!
Very unrelated, still looking for
your recs at yesterday's post. Come on, it can't be THAT hard to choose one fic? What is THE fic you'd re-read if I told you you had only one more day to read fic and then no more?
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sorchasilver for the code!)
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