Biodiversity

BIODIVERSITY

PT. 1

We are all invisibly connected—

You and me, and the 9 million species who share our home. One million of them are now at risk of extinction (UN).

These are the trees that transform sunshine into sugar. The insects who pollinate dinner. Reefs that break swells so homes don't have to. Algae and fungi storing away the CO2 we put out. And the living genetic library behind half of the medicines we take (nature's brilliance outperforms any AI).

We are all invisibly connected—which makes 1 million dead ends of life hard to grasp. Scientific models do what our imaginations won't: the essential support that ecosystems provide our daily lives would be cut up to 70% (ESA). It would have grave impacts on people around the world (UN). Our poorest communities would be the ones pressed hardest (UN).

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How deeply I want to believe it's not too late.

Nature's webs are extraordinarily complex. It makes them capable of wonder. It makes them difficult to save. While the bulk of climate change traces back to a few sources, the extinction crisis points to many. It's habitat loss and fragmentation. It's overexploitation. It's climate change, invasive species and pollution (ESA). It's across 7 continents and 5 oceans. It's also not the only way to go.

I have studied these things and helped push some of them forward. And still, I am at the beginning of understanding how our actions shape the movement of life. In business we have frameworks for climate. We have frameworks for waste and toxicity. We do not have a true framework for shaping the loss of species. And so together with leading conservation ecologists—Dr. Vanessa Handley, Dr. Krithi Karanth, Dr. Craig Smith—we try to make one.

The need is great. Let us try to act greater—so audacious, so everyday, we almost forget there was another way.

More to follow,
Mel

The most sustainable product is still the one you already own.