Biodiversity – from tigers in Bhutan to gila monsters in the United States to Horned beetles in Africa to tube worms in hydrothermal vents in the deep ocean to sea cucumbers living on the coral reefs of Madagascar to the mites on your cheese – is makes life on Earth livable for our species. By extinguishing hotbeds of biodiversity – rainforests, wetlands, coral reefs, and grasslands – we are destroying a part of ourselves. Biodiversity will recover after humanity is gone, but in the meantime, the continuing loss of our fellow species will make Earth an awfully crowded, but lonely place.
Past extinctions have shown it takes at least 5 million years to restore biodiversity to the level equal to that prior of the extinction event event. Our actions today will determine whether Earth will be biologically impoverished for the 500 trillion or more humans that will inhabit the earth during that future period.
The extinction event that is occurring as you read these words rivals the extinctions caused by natural disasters of global ice ages, planetary collisions, atmospheric poisoning, and variations in solar radiation. The difference is that this extinction was conceived by humans and subject to human decisions. We are the last, best hope for life as we prefer it on this planet.
The lesson of mongabay.com is we may not have to accept this future. A lot can still be done. Using our intelligence and ingenuity, the human species can preserve biodiversity and unique places for future generations, without compromising the quality of life for present populations.
These pictures represent a celebration and a reminder of life that surrounds us.
Gmelin’s Bronzeback snake (Dendrelaphis pictus) eating a frog in Malaysia
Colorado River, Grand Canyon
Mountains near Muzagata Peak, China
Panther chameleon, Madagascar
Black-handed Spider Monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) in Beilze
White-faced capuchin in Hacienda Baru
Stick Mantid, Madagascar
Male ostrich defending chicks, Tanzania
Blue-and-yellow macaws flying toward clay lick, Peru
Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Tenrec, Madagascar
Pair of plains zebra, Kenya
Baby caiman, Costa Rica
Red Leaf-monkey (Presbytis rubicunda) in Borneo
Pitcher plant, Nepenthes reinwardtiana, in rain forest of Borneo, Indonesia
Tomato frog, Madagascar
Sunset in Roatan, Honduras
Ring-tailed lemurs, Madagascar
Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Little Colorado River, Grand Canyon
Clear-wing butterfly (Pseudohaeterea hypaesia, Colombia
Lion cubs, Tanzania
Sunset on the Mekong near Luang Prabang, Laos
Young lowland gorilla, Gabon
Sunset over the Pacific Ocean, Maui
Sunrise near Hana on the island of Maui, Hawaii.
Swordplants in the Pantanal, Brazil
Cabybara, Brazil
Tree climbing lion, Uganda
Cancun sunset, Mexico
The cryptic short-tailed Nighthawk (Lurocalis semitorquatus) in Costa Rica
Danum river in Malaysia
Moth on the underside of a leaf caught by the sun, Costa Rica
Rhea in the Pantanal, Brazil
Jaguar in Brazil
Humpback whales breaching, Alaska
Jabiru stork, Brazil
Hatchling Olive Ridley sea turtle near Hacienda Baru, Costa Rica
Black Caiman, Brazil
Baobabs, Madagascar
Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) in flight over crashing surf, Costa Rica
Ranomafana, Madagascar
Adult Male Orangutan, Indonesia
Blueberry poison arrow frog, Panama
Big Sur, Big Sur
Reefs off Cancun, Mexico
Swarms of lake flies in a garden near Lake Victoria, Uganda
Ring-tailed lemurs, Madagascar
Praying mantis in Brownsberg National Park, Suriname
Metallic green, yellow, and copper colored beetle in Malaysia
Rainbow racerunner, Honduras
Two young brown bears on a rocky beach in Alaska, Alaska
Olive Ridley sea turtle headed out to see near Dominical, Costa Rica
Female lion with wildebeest kill, Tanzania
Entrance to St. Herman’s Cave in Belize
Red frog in Las Cruces, Costa Rica
Tree frog in Costa Rica
Automeris moth caterpillar displaying its neon green but venemous spines, Colombia
Hatchling Olive ridley sea turtles headed out to sea
Mountains in Utah, United States
Virgin River in Zion National Park, Utah
Sunset over Tarangire National Park, Tanzania
African elephant, Uganda
Blue and yellow macaw, Colombia
Canyon des Singes in Isalo, Madagascar
Blue insect in Borneo
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