The world has lost 68 percent of wildlife species since 1970, according to the World Wildlife Fund, a global nonprofit. This represents a staggering loss of what scientists call biodiversity, a crucial metric of environmental health.
"If you begin to reduce or remove animals and plants from any ecosystem, the way it functions begins to unravel, and that's what's happening now," Rebecca Shaw, global chief scientist for World Wildlife Fund, told Cheddar. "Biodiversity then is under threat primarily from habitat destruction and over-harvest."
This steep reduction in biodiversity has serious implications not just for the animal kingdom but for humans as well.
"All of the species in an ecosystem play a role in delivering benefits to humans," she said. "We call them ecosystem services, because they're services that come from the ecosystem like clean air or clean water. So when we reduce populations of animal or plant species, we reduce the capacity of an ecosystem to deliver those services."
She pointed to one study showing that three billion birds are missing from North American skies, which has implications for crucial environmental processes such as pollination and seed dispersal for plants. Similar depopulations are taking place in marine ecosystems as well.
"Globally, hundreds of millions of people depend on their local fisheries for income and nutrition — I know my community does — and the decline of fish species leads to less productive fishery systems and undermines the health and welfare of those people that are dependent on those oceans," Shaw said.
There have been global efforts to counter this decline, but they've met with limited success in reversing the downward trends.
In 2010, the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity gathered in Japan to establish the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, setting specific goals to halt or reduce the destruction of wildlife.
Shaw said the UN agency started evaluating the success of those targets this year.
"It doesn't look at all," she said. "While we came close to protecting 17 percent of the world's forests, which was a target, we failed miserably to protect the world's oceans and fisheries in the world's oceans."
The UN is set to meet again to establish goals for the next 10 years, but the date of this meeting has been delayed until the first quarter of 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In the meantime, Shaw said it is crucial that governments work with the food industry in particular to fight the loss of biodiversity.
"Production and consumption of food is the major driver of habitat destruction and over-harvesting on the planet," she said. "So the policy actions include working with companies that produce and sell food to make sure that the production of their products is biodiversity friendly."
As for the average consumer, a change in diet could help as well, including eating less red meat. "We need to eat smarter and reduce food waste," she added.
It’s no secret that the world is amidst a climate crisis never before seen in our time. And our excessive resource consumption is to blame. But just exactly what resources are to blame might surprise you. Hint: fossil fuels are only one part of the problem.
Dr. Robert Lahita, the director of Saint Joseph's Institute for Autoimmune and Rheumatic Diseases, joined Cheddar to discuss the latest on omicron as the new variant has popped up in more than a dozen states so far. He emphasized that vaccinations should remain the priority despite efficacy against the new variant being unknown at this point.
Six states have confirmed cases of the new Omicron coronavirus variant, and this number is expected to grow. Cheddar's Hena Doba speaks with Dr. William Schaffner,
Professor of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, on the latest developments.
Just days after the detection of the Omicron variant, the World Health Organization has agreed to start the process of establishing a global pandemic treaty or accord. Amy Maxmen, senior reporter for Nature, and Dr. Samuel Scarpino, managing director for the Rockefeller Foundation's Pandemic Prevention Institute, joined Cheddar to discuss this effort and what lessons can be learned from the many COVID-19 failures as the world prepares for future pandemics.
Local Bounti rang the opening bell December 3 in honor of its recent trading debut on the NYSE after closing a $1.1 billion SPAC deal. The company operates an indoor growing facility in Montana and aims to transform the production and delivery of local, fresh and sustainably-grown leafy greens. Craig Hurlbert, co-founder and co-CEO of Local Bounti, joined Cheddar to discuss the company's goals as a newly publicly-traded company.
Stephan Winkelmann, president of Bugatti Automobiles and CEO of Lamborghini, stopped by Cheddar to talk about Lamborghini's 2021 success after the luxury automaker set a company sales record on more than 6,9000 vehicles delivered. With climate change top of mind for the auto industry, Winkelmann also talked about Lamborghini's commitment to hybridizing its entire fleet. Still, when it comes to supercars, the legacy brand isn't quite ready to give up gasoline power, and according to the CEO, three new combustion engine vehicles will be available in 2022.
New York officials have confirmed five omicron COVID-19 cases in New York City and on Long Island after a Minnesota man who tested positive for the same variant said he attended a convention in November at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan.
It's Friday at long last. Jill and Carlo cover the latest on Omicron, including a possible superspreader event in NYC. Plus, previewing the November jobs report, a new Zoom feature no one asked for, and when it's no longer a good idea to eat Thanksgiving leftovers.
Three cases of the new omicron COVID-19 variant have been confirmed in the U.S. Cheddar speaks with global infection disease specialist Dr. Rajeev Fernando on how to prepare for a possible new coronavirus wave.
