Step 1
The words and phrases below will appear in the text. Use the various Quizlet study modes to get used to the words. Enjoy!
Step 2
The words and phrases below will appear in the text. Use the various Quizlet study modes to get used to the words. Enjoy!
Step 3
Read the text and answer the questions. Good luck!
Humanity ‘Sleepwalking Towards the Edge of a Cliff’: 60% of Earth’s Wildlife Wiped Out Since 1970
“Nature is not a ‘nice to have’—it is our life-support system.“
Scientists from around the world issued a strong warning to humanity on Tuesday. The warning came from a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) report on the Earth’s declining biodiversity. It shows that about sixty percent of mammals, birds, fish, and reptiles have been wiped out by human activity since 1970.
“What is increasingly clear is that human development and well-being are reliant on healthy natural systems, and we cannot continue to enjoy the former without the latter.” —World Wildlife Fund
The World Wildlife Fund’s Living Planet Index details how human’s uncontrolled over consumption of land, food, and natural resources has killed a majority of the wildlife on the planet. It now threatens human civilization too.
“We are sleepwalking towards the edge of a cliff,” Mike Barrett, executive director of science and conservation at WWF, told the Guardian. “If there was a 60 percent decline in the human population, that would be like emptying North America, South America, Africa, Europe, China, and Oceania. That is the scale of what we have done.”
Killer whales are one species that is in danger of extinction because of chemicals used by humans. The Living Index Report said freshwater species and animal populations in Central and South America are the worst affected.
“Species population declines are worst in the tropics, with South and Central America suffering an 89 percent loss compared to 1970.” “Freshwater species numbers have also declined by 83% since 1970,” said the report.
Destruction of wildlife habitats is the leading human-related cause of extinction. People around the world are now using about three-quarters of all land on the planet for agriculture, industry, and other purposes.
Mass killing of animals for food is the second-largest cause of extinction, according to the report. 300 mammal species are being hunted for their meat.
“It is a clear the decline is caused by our own consumption,” Barrett told the Guardian.
The report calls for everyone to understand that we are not just saving animals. Rather, the survival of the planet’s ecosystems is now a matter of life and death for the human population.
“Nature aids human well being culturally and spiritually. It helps us through the necessary production of food, clean water, and energy. It also helps to regulate the Earth’s climate, pollution, pollination and floods,” Professor Robert Watson, told the Guardian. “The Living Planet report clearly shows that human activities are destroying nature at an unacceptable rate, threatening the well being of current and future generations.”
Many scientists believe that that a sixth mass extinction is now happening. This would be the first extinction ever to be caused by a single species. The loss of all life on Earth could be caused by a rapidly warming planet as well as the loss of biodiversity. Both are caused by humans.
Step 4
Answer the short poll question.
Step 5