Amid a global pandemic, it may seem logical to push issues of conservation and biodiversity aside. 

But the coronavirus is directly linked to environmental degradation.

Humans are pushing further and further into new habitats, increasing human-wildlife contact. These interactions have serious consequences: When we interact more directly with wildlife, we also interact more closely with the diseases they carry.

Diseases that jump from animals to humans are known as zoonoses, and they’re increasing in frequency. In the early 2000s, SARS spread from bats and civet cats; a century ago, the Spanish influenza affected birds and other mammals before it transferred to humans; in the last year, COVID-19 spread from a wildlife market. 

And as we continue to infringe on forest habitats, diversity of species declines. Studies show that species richness and evenness have a “dilution effect” on disease within a host community, making it less likely to get passed to humans. 

We’re at a critical point in environmental history. More than a million species are at risk of extinction because of our actions. If we want to survive, humans must change our relationship with the natural world.

Infringing on wild environments has not helped anyone thus far. Instead, we must work to protect these environments and set limits for ourselves — if not for the sake of stewardship then for preservation of the beneficial species that live among us.

Species from coral reefs to rainforests make up roughly 40–50 percent of our pharmaceuticals. Experts have tried to put a dollar value on ecosystem services, but no amount of money could truly buy what they do for us. For example, one great whale provides us $2 million worth of services over their lifetime and helps fight climate change.

Conservationists argue that at least 50 percent of the Earth must be protected by 2030 to save our future. In 2016, we were only protecting 14.7 percent, with key ecosystems left out.

May 22 marks the International Day for Biological Diversity, a United Nations-sanctioned day dedicated to promoting issues related to biodiversity. We’ve seen where our business as usual has gotten us and it’s time to change. 

Hold your leaders accountable for protecting land this November: Vote Earth. And keep up to date with Earth Day Network’s Conservation and Biodiversity campaign. 

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Dr. Karen Haysom is species programmes manager at Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust in Bournemouth, U.K. 

Amphibians are at risk worldwide. Environmental pressures, including habitat destruction and climate change, push many of these animals — frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, caecilians — toward extinction. But if we were to lose amphibians, we would lose a staple of our ecosystems — and a much-loved group that holds a unique place in our hearts.

Today, amphibians feature widely in children’s literature, as well as film and television: the Frog and Toad children’s books, Kermit the Frog in The Muppets, the frogs in the Budweiser commercials.

This fascination with amphibians extends back thousands of years and across a myriad of cultures. Amphibians feature in the Bible, and in the art, myths and legends of ancient peoples like the Aztecs.

In these frames, amphibians are often symbolic of rain and fertility, though this can vary depending on the order of amphibians. For example, salamanders are associated with rain and fire in some cultures. In places where they are abundant, like the tropics, amphibians’ calling can dominate the soundscape, contributing strongly to a community’s sense of place.

About 8,000 species of amphibians inhabit our Earth, and they’re all similar in that they are vertebrates with variable body temperatures, permeable skins and a lifecycle that usually includes an aquatic larval stage. The larvae, often called tadpoles, undergo an incredible transition — metamorphosis — in which their bodies physically transform for life on land.

Amphibians live in all but the coldest and driest countries and in all sorts of habitats, including in trees and even underground. For example, Itambe’s bromeliad frog (Crossodactylodes itambe), an extremely rare frog found at only a single location in Brazil, lives its entire life in bromeliads — a special kind of plant that collects water in its leaf structure. Some frogs, such as the waxy monkey tree frog (Phyllomedusa sauvagii) have a special waxy coating to help protect their skins from drying out.

And, of course, amphibians are invaluable to ecosystems. They regulate prey species, recycle natural materials and, because they move between land and water, move energy and nutrients between these environments. They are also food for other animals, and in some parts of the world, for people.

Sadly, amphibians are one of the most threatened groups of animals in the world, with over 40% of species threatened with extinction. This is mostly due to habitat loss, disease, pollution, exploitation for food or pets, invasive species and climate change.

Amphibians are especially threatened because of their habitat requirements and complex life cycles. Also, their permeable skins make them vulnerable to contaminants and pathogens and the weather extremes that are more prevalent in a warming world.

But we can all help. If you have a backyard or a garden, make a pond and other wildlife habitat and avoid the use of pesticides. Support an organization, such as Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust.  Above all, share your love of amphibians with others to inspire the next generation and pressure leaders to vote policy that preserves amphibians’ natural habitats. Learn more at the Amphibian Survival Alliance.

Image at top: Tree frogs, like this one from Italy, were often used in folk remedies. Some believed that the fat from these frogs could treat rotten teeth. Photo: Jim Foster/ARC

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If recent years are any indication, we’re on track for a future of fire. In 2018, wildfires consumed entire communities in California. In 2019, tens of thousands of fires ravaged the Amazon rainforest. Today, bushfires have threatened thousands of people and hundreds of millions of animals across Australia.

We’ve reached a new and devastating normal —from here on out, wildfires will be a tragic unifier, affecting areas from the dry Australian outback to lush Amazonian rainforests to the vineyards of the California coast, and everywhere in between.

Physically speaking, the recent Australian bushfires have been enormous. As reported by CNN, Australia’s wildfires have blazed 14.7 million acres of land since late July — more than double the area consumed by the 2019 Amazon rainforest fires and over ten times the acreage burned in the 2018 California wildfires.

Australia’s most recent fires are natural to an extent — largely ignited by lightning strikes in drought-affected areas — but the fires have been primed and fueled by a steady drip of human activities, particularly man-made climate change.

As we’ve pumped millions of tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere over the last century and a half, we’ve also severely altered the Earth’s chemistry, creating a world where extreme weather is more likely. In other words, we’ve set the table for our recent devastation.

Unnatural disasters

Last year Australia had its hottest, driest year on record, reflecting a larger global trend: Around the world, the last five years have also been the five hottest years on record.

Severe heat exacerbates drought, turning brush, forests and land into so much potential kindling. Fed by dry vegetation, these fires spread easily, leaving first responders and army reservists scrambling to contain the devastation.

And because the planet is experiencing warmer weather for longer periods of times, our wildfire seasons are also lengthening, meaning more fires will burn further and longer: Over the last 40 years or so, the wildfire season has lengthened by a quarter, according to research published in Nature.

The local impacts of Australia’s fires have been catastrophic, with at least 24 people killed and 900 homes destroyed. Additionally, 480 million animals have been affected by the fires, including the country’s iconic species: the koala bear. In one recent video, footage captured the haunting cries of a koala screaming while burning alive in the bushfires. 

“Australia’s biodiversity was already declining at an unprecedented rate — this event may tip some species to the brink of extinction,” said Richard Turner, a behavioral ecologist at Australian National University, in an email. “For example, almost all habitat of the remaining wild populations of brush-tailed rock-wallabies has burnt or is at imminent risk.”       

And those species spared extinction will still face insurmountable difficulties in both the coming months and years.

“Those not killed directly by the flames are now displaced — starving, dehydrated and vulnerable to predators,” said Turner. “The devastating scale of these fires means that many forests may take decades to recover.”

Besides their disastrous impacts on our environment, bushfires also pose a major health risk. Estimates report that breathing the air in some areas of Australia is comparable to smoking 37 cigarettes a day. As particulate matter, a common air pollutant from wildfires, increases in the atmosphere, so do risks of heart and lung disease, asthma-related issues, premature deaths, pediatric ER visits, more aggressive behavior and perhaps even violent crimes.

Playing with fire

As thousands of firefighters risk their lives to protect citizens, state and federal authorities must be commended for combatting the fires that our collective actions have created. But these courageous acts shouldn’t deflect blame from those responsible: Leaders who refuse to act on climate change.

Large, wealthy countries that should be leading us into an era of green energy are driving us further into catastrophe. As the embers cooled on two devastating years of wildfires in California, the United States started paperwork to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord. And as Australia burns, its prime minster continues to support coal, the dirtiest of all traditional energy sources.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), we have a mere decade to reverse course and avoid the worst impacts of climate change. The IPCC’s special report published in 2018 outlined the huge differences we can expect to experience between a world where we increase our world temperature by 1.5 degrees and 2 degrees Celsius. That distinction of half a degree is literally the difference between life and death for millions of species, including humans, on our planet.

Like so many environmental issues, simply reacting and responding is no longer a viable solution. Dousing a fire in water is far worse than preventing the fire in the first place.

Unfortunately for us, we’ve delayed climate action for so long, that while the 1.5-degree mark is technically reachable, it’s highly improbable. We’ve consistently emitted more carbon dioxide than the year before (and 2019 has set the latest record). Now, to hold temperature rise to 1.5 degrees, we must cut emissions by 7.6 percent every year for the next decade. And we need to start now.

Given our track record, which hasn’t seen action anywhere near this level of ambition, and in fact has actively gone in the opposite direction, this proposal can sound so outlandish that if the fate of humanity wasn’t at stake, it would be laughable. 

Too hot not to handle

But even though the 1.5-degree mark is probably unreachable, to throw our hands up and give in to our doomsday fate is misguided, even dangerous, as David Roberts outlines in a recent piece for Vox.

“Exceeding 1.5˚C, which is likely to happen in our lifetimes, doesn’t mean anyone should feel apathetic or paralyzed,” writes Roberts. “If anything, the need to mobilize against climate change only becomes greater with every new increment of heat, because the potential stakes grow larger.”

We must maintain hope in the face of crisis, because without it, our society is that much closer to collapse. That may sound hyperbolic, but civilizations have collapsed from much less, including drought, famine, disease — all of which are expected to increase in a warming world.

Each fraction of a degree of warming will make it harder on our survival as a species. And we must resist the urge to accept these fires as the new normal, as author David Wallace-Wells warns in his recent piece for New York Magazine.

“The duration of this climate horror has allowed us to normalize it even while it continues to unfold — continues to torture, and brutalize, and terrify,” Wallace-Wells writes. “Coming to see the wildfire season as a permanent threat is another terrifying adjustment, though [we] are now doing precisely that.”

What’s happening to the planet is unprecedented and we must treat it as such. We must push forward bold, innovative solutions that acknowledge and address the historic magnitude of the climate crisis. We must break our complacency for — and complicity in — these manmade tragedies and mobilize around a new way forward. If we don’t, Australia’s recent fires will only be the beginning of what’s to come in a burnt new world.

On the 50th anniversary of Earth Day — April 22, 2020 — tell leaders you won’t stand idly by as the world burns. Join the largest, most diverse mobilization in defense of the planet. Join the EARTHRISE movement.

Note: This article was edited to include comments from Richard Turner.

Image at top: A firefighter pauses after a 15-hour shift fighting bushfires in Bell, in the Western Downs Region of Queensland, Australia. Photo Credit: Daniel Knox and Andrew O’Dwyer

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We’ve heard this story before, you might think, and in a sense, you’d be right. But what makes this whale different is the more than 220 pounds of ocean trash found in its stomach. In 2019 alone we’ve seen whales wash up with 48 pounds of ingested trash, even 88 pounds, but we have never seen 220 pounds of garbage present in a whale.  

Trash has invaded our oceans thoroughly. It’s on our beaches, it’s ventured down to the furthest depths, it’s in our smallest organisms; it’s no wonder we’re finding these whales washing up with now hundreds of pounds of trash within them.

As horrible as these whale strandings are, they do show that this isn’t just a local or even regional problem.

“The fact that it’s a whale does a good job at showing how global the impacts of the problem are,” says David Ayer, Earth Day Network’s End Plastic Pollution campaign manager. “The northern coast of Scotland is not a place where a lot of plastic is entering the ocean from the land, but plastic in the ocean anywhere on Earth has the potential to cause a whale to wash up on a coastline on the other side of the world.”  

A 2017 study published in the journal Science Advances showed that 79% of all plastics ever made have been accumulated in landfills or the natural environment. Furthermore, current production and waste management trends continue, roughly 12,000 megatons of plastic waste will be in landfills or nature by 2050.

As a conservationist, talking about these events are never easy. Many whale populations are considered vulnerable if not already categorized as endangered. But we must remember that whales are just the tip of the iceberg.

Beneath the surface, millions of other animals harmed by plastic pollution don’t wash up on our shores or are too small to attract our attention. These animals are just as important to marine ecosystems.

The sperm whale found this weekend is just another very large canary in an even bigger coal mine telling us plastic pollution is harming marine life. Learn more about what you can do to limit plastic waste at Earth day Network’s End Plastic Pollution campaign.

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Climate change is threatening our wildlife, and nowhere is that more apparent than the Amazon rainforest.

As the largest rainforest in the world, the Amazon spans 2.3 million square miles (twice the size of India) and has within its borders the world’s largest river basin. It’s also one of the richest biological communities, home to 10 percent of the world’s known species, as well as many flora and fauna unique to the region.

But if we don’t shape up — and by shape up, we mean slash greenhouse gas emissions at a rapid pace — we might lose this vast empire of wildlife.

“It is very clear that climate change of more than one and a half degrees [Celsius] will produce a climate that’s very difficult to manage biologically,” says Thomas Lovejoy, senior fellow at the United Nations Foundation, in an interview with Earth Day Network. “Basically, ecosystems are already starting to come apart, some of them quite dramatically.”

The Amazon is suffering from the influence of human activities, most recently in the news through coverage of deforestation and fires. And global warming, induced by the huge amounts of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere, is making everything worse, especially for all those diverse species.

Still, as Lovejoy points out, for the billions of years before humans discovered fossil fuels, the Earth has maintained balance by regulating carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Lovejoy refers to these interacting processes — processes that incorporate ecosystems and climate as interworking parts — as a living planet.

“It’s time to start treating, respecting and managing the planet as the living system that it is, that it is a linked physical and biological system,” he says.

Lovejoy has been nicknamed “the Godfather of Biodiversity” for his extensive work in biology within the Amazon rainforest. Biodiversity is, according to Lovejoy, “the variety of nature. Whether you think in species or different kinds of habitats or genetic diversity of a species, it’s the variation of nature.”

He says that biodiversity is the best way to measure the health of our planet. Basically, wildlife is the canary of not only coal mines, but the entire planet. It’s important to therefore respect the Earth’s biological working parts, because if we don’t, it could spell disaster.

And the quicker we embrace this idea and start embracing solutions, the better, because the Amazon may be on the verge of a tipping point, where natural systems start working against each other with cascading effects. How water is distributed across the Amazon and South America is one factor vulnerable to this tipping point.

The Amazon is so large that it has its own hydrological cycle. As rain falls onto the forest, the vegetation absorbs the water and then releases it back into the air through evapotranspiration. The recent Amazon wildfires, driven partially by deforestation, could upend that process. And a drier Amazon, which should be one of the wettest places in the world, would have terrible consequences on ecosystems.

With historic droughts more and more frequently in the last decade, Lovejoy thinks we might already be seeing the telltale signs of the tipping point. But that doesn’t mean we can’t work together to find solutions. And it starts with biodiversity restoration.

Lovejoy cites several ways to help this living planet, starting with ecosystem restoration. Lovejoy calls it “re-greening the planet.” It can be planting a tree or helping restore a coastal wetland, he says.

Additionally, we need to transform our agricultural systems so that they absorb, rather than produce, carbon. And, as has been in the news lately, cattle ranching is a major drive of deforestation in the Amazon, so considering a plant-based diet doesn’t hurt.

“[Biodiversity restoration] will require greater vision, collective vision, about the future of the planet than has been our usual way of doing it,” says Lovejoy. “The only way out of this is to think big and at the same time think about what it means for individuals and how they can contribute.”

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It’s Shark Week, Discovery Channel’s eight days of shark programming. All week we’ll binge TV shows like “Laws of Jaws: Dangerous Waters,” “Capsized: Blood in the Water” and “Great White Kill Zone.” Who’s ready to see some blood-thirsty killers on the prowl?

As these show titles suggest, sharks get a bad rap.

“Sharks are often thought of as mindless predators with an insatiable tendency for attacking humans,” said Ryan Murray, a shark researcher at Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines, in an email to Earth Day Network. “This misconception has been largely fueled by sensationalized movies or media outlets which tend to boost biased news stories to generate and maximize ratings.”

Sharks, no matter how frightening they’re portrayed, are vital parts of ecosystems. Whenever we portray sharks as hungry, dangerous predators, we lose a chance to talk about their importance. And when we see sharks in this latter lens, we realize how fascinating, and fragile, they are.

Who’s the real villain?

On average, sharks kill six humans per year. Conversely, humans kill 100 million sharks per year. We’re villifying the wrong species.

Sharks are in rapid decline. This decline can be linked to increasing human populations and the industrialization of commercial fishing. This vulnerable landscape, combined with sharks’ natural life cycles, makes for a shaky future.

Sharks mature later in life, reproducing infrequently and giving birth to relatively few pups, explained Murray. Sharks must navigate waters of fishing nets and hooks for years until they’re old enough to pass their genes onto the next generation. One study suggested that a quarter of shark species are at risk from unsustainable fishing practices.

And then there’s finning, a particularly grotesque fishing practice. Fishermen catch sharks, cut off their fins and throw the finless sharks back into the water. No longer able to swim, the sharks simply drown. The fins are then used in upscale dishes like shark fin soup, as well as traditional medicines.

Fins from up to 73 million sharks are estimated to hit the global market every year. Shark finning is illegal in U.S. waters, but the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act of 2019, currently before Congress, would make it illegal to possess, buy or sell shark fins or any product containing shark fins. Tell Congress to pass the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act of 2019.

Other threats to sharks include pollution and climate change, the latter driving warmer sea temperatures and ocean acidification that degrade shark habitats and affect shark development and behavior.

Just because they’re predators doesn’t mean they’re bad

Sharks are apex predators, or predators at the top of the food chain. But that doesn’t mean they’re bad. Lions are also apex killers, but unless they’re named Scar, we give them a pass.

“Instead of only highlighting and promoting the fear of sharks, we should be answering questions like, ‘What are their feeding behaviors? Where do they like to go?’” says Earth Day Network Protect Our Species Campaign Manager Katie Wood.

Answering these questions will provide insight on shark management plans and sharks’ influence on ecosystems. A study published in the science journal PLOS ONE, showed that a high density of apex predators may actually increase the resilience of coral reef ecosystems from warmer waters and other effects of climate change.

Apex predators like sharks also keep in check certain species of fish. Without sharks, mid-level species overconsume species at the bottom of the food chain. When this happens, entire ecosystems can collapse.

“When we are hearing about the disconcerting decline of sharks around the globe, we also need to consider the bigger picture of the knock-on effects this may have on marine ecosystems as a whole,” said Murray.

Shark attacks sell

While focusing on the more sensational aspects of shark attacks may strike box office gold, outside of Hollywood, shark attacks are remarkably rare. In 2018, there were 66 unprovoked shark attacks. That’s a one in 3.75 million chance of being attacked by sharks — you’re more likely to be hit by an asteroid than bitten a shark.

“What a lot of people don’t realize is that sharks consume relatively small prey such as flying fish, squid and reef fish so being human sized automatically removes us from the menu for the vast majority of shark species,” said Murray.

When sharks do attack, it’s often a case of mistaken identity. Sharks lack long appendages, so they rely on their mouths — and consequently, their bite — to investigate foreign objects. Humans sometimes are just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Next time you swim in the ocean, remember that you’re a guest in their home, not the other way around.

Become a shark scientist

Observing and collecting data on sharks can be a daunting and costly practice. Even full-time researchers have trouble gathering all the information they need to conserve shark habitats. Research institutes rely on donations, as well as volunteers, to carry out their objectives. They also rely on contributions from citizen scientists.

Citizen science brings together amateur scientists — students, educators, enthusiasts — to gather data that supports research. In the case of sharks, citizen scientists contribute photos and videos that shed light on sharks’ behaviors and locations.

“Think of it like a community-based, inexpensive tracking system,” said Murray.

The Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines, for example, uses marine tourists to contribute data to its studies on sharks in the Philippines. Citizen science helps the institute build national population catalogues for sharks that answer important questions about their populations. Online platforms like Whaleshark.org let citizen scientists upload images of shark sightings to their international database.

To support global citizen science efforts, Earth Day Network recently partnered with the Wilson Center and the U.S. Department of State to launch the world’s largest coordinated citizen science campaign, Earth Challenge 2020. Sign up to learn more about how you can help.

People should not fear or vilify sharks, but rather respect them for what they are: valuable, complex and curious species that live within a mysterious oceanic landscape. Learn more about how you can protect sharks at Earth Day Network’s Protect Our Species campaign and Sharks page.

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