Report Warns of Looming Extinction Crisis for U.S. Plants, Animals

Eternal, unsustainable growth has had a devastating impact on our environment. A new report from Reuters has laid out the very real extinction threat human overpopulation has caused to plants and animals in our country.

Their report cited a comprehensive new study from NatureServe, which revealed that 40% of animals, and 34% of plants in the United States face extinction. On top of that, 41% of ecosystems in our country face a total collapse.

The report added that California is one of the areas in our country most affected by this extinction threat, along with Texas, and the Southeast. According to NatureServe, this is due to the rich biodiversity in these regions combined with population growth.

“Those areas are both the richest in terms of biodiversity in the country, but also where population growth has boomed in recent decades, and where human encroachment on nature has been harshest, said Wesley Knapp, the chief botanist at NatureServe.”

NatureServe’s full report can be viewed on their website, and we strongly encourage all CAPS readers to check it out. NatureServe’s President and CEO Sean T. O’Brien issued the following warning in a press release on the study:

“We are currently experiencing and causing the Sixth Extinction—the mass extinction of species across the planet. NatureServe’s data highlight where the threats are right here at home[.]”

NatureServe’s study follows a similar report at the beginning of January from CBS News which chronicled a 60 Minutes segment that focused on the impending extinction crisis.

In their report, they cited a World Wildlife Fund study which showed that the abundance of global wildlife has declined 69% over the past 50 years.

In their press release, NatureServe did mention some solutions, like the 30X30 global initiative which aims to conserve 30% of the world’s land and water by 2030. However, accomplishing this lofty goal will require real investment from governments and private institutions around the world, along with a massive shift in public policy.

Human beings are part of the global ecosystem as well, and the growth in our population to unsustainable levels has had a catastrophic effect. on the world around us.

The grim reality is starting us right in the eyes. Unless we change the way we live our lives and take the threat of human overpopulation seriously, it’s not just plants and animals that will experience the extinction crisis.