'Ominous' UN Report Warns Human Activity Has Pushed One Million Plant and Animal Species to Brink of Extinction

This breaks my heart. And this is indeed an enormous wake-up call to humanity. We are in the midst of the 6th major extinction. We are experiencing an ecological crisis and climate crisis. I believe that we all need to courageously allow our hearts to be broken open by these tragic and frightening realities. Channeling our heartbreak and deep caring and reverence for life into massive collective action on a national and global scale is what offers us the chance of a habitable planet for today’s and future inhabitants of our Earth. There are movements emerging everywhere that offer us the opportunity to get involved. We’re at the 12th hour. We’re all needed. — Molly

"Nature is collapsing around us and it's a real wake-up call to humanity."

by

Jake Johnson, staff writer

A United Nations report described as the most authoritative and comprehensive assessment of global biodiversity ever published found that human exploitation of the natural world has pushed a million plant and animal species to the brink of extinction—with potentially devastating implications for the future of civilization.

Conducted by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and released Monday, the report warned that species extinction rates are "accelerating" at an "unprecedented" rate due to the human-caused climate crisis and economic activity.

"The overwhelming evidence of the IPBES Global Assessment, from a wide range of different fields of knowledge, presents an ominous picture," Sir Robert Watson, chair of the IPBES, said in a statement. "The health of ecosystems on which we and all other species depend is deteriorating more rapidly than ever. We are eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health, and quality of life worldwide."

While the report's findings—compiled by a team of hundreds of experts from 50 nations—are dire and cause for serious alarm, Watson said, there is still a window for action.

"It is not too late to make a difference, but only if we start now at every level from local to global," said Watson. "Through 'transformative change,' nature can still be conserved, restored, and used sustainably—this is also key to meeting most other global goals. By transformative change, we mean a fundamental, system-wide reorganization across technological, economic, and social factors, including paradigms, goals, and values."

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