Extreme Environmental Threats

Forests are a precious natural resource, but today they are under threat across the world. They are being logged, burnt, cleared, and degraded. When managed capably, forests can flourish as havens for natural life while also providing human communities with wood, employment, and ecological services. It remains to be seen, however, whether the human race will be able to meet the challenge of forest conservation and sustainable development that is crucial to the survival of these endangered and essential cradles of life.

The world's wildlife is vanishing at an alarming rate. Scientists at the Nature Conservancy and the World Wildlife Federation estimate that one in four mammals, and a full third of Earth's amphibians are in danger of becoming extinct. Today species are becoming extinct at a rate that is anywhere from 100 to 1,000 times faster than normal. People have been in fierce competition with wild animals for land, food, and natural resources for years. When over-hunting and –fishing of species and a rise in the level of pollution is added to this mix, humans come to represent the single gravest threat to wildlife survival. Any species that disappears leaves a hole in the web of life. Mass extinction would leave so many holes that the web might totally fall apart. Humans must realize the important role wildlife plays in the survival of the planet and reverse the damage-before it's too late.

The defining challenge of the twenty-first century for the entire world may very well be the health of our atmosphere, both the delicate balance of gases in its upper reaches and the air we breathe at ground level. Increases in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases appear to be resulting in rapid and possibly catastrophic global warming and climate change. Pollution at lower altitudes-caused by such things as car exhaust and industrial emissions-is causing the destruction of flora and fauna as well as health problems in humans. The invisible element that we draw deeply into our lungs about 17,000 times a day may be poisoning us now that we have poisoned it. The future of life on earth may be in real peril. This hard-hitting book spells out exactly the state we're in, where we're headed, and what can be done to insure that conditions do not worsen for future generations.