Wednesday, October 08, 2008

One Quarter of All Mammals Face Extinction; Meanwhile, the Number of Humans Living as Refugees or Internally DIsplaced People is Soaring

Image: Frida Kahlo, Love Embrace of the Universe


One Quarter of All Mammals Face Extinction; Meanwhile, the Number of Humans Living as Refugees or Internally DIsplaced People is Soaring

By Richard Power


The consequences of climate change, in particular, and the sustainability crisis, in general, are beginning to hit warm-blooded species from the Iberian Lynx and the Caspian Seal to the Homo Sapien:

"A quarter of the world's mammals are threatened with extinction ...The report, the most comprehensive to date by 1,700 researchers, showed populations of half of all 5,487 species of mammals were in decline. Mammals range in size from blue whales to Thailand's insect-sized bumblebee bat. "Mammals are declining faster than we thought -- one in four species is threatened with extinction worldwide," Jan Schipper, who led the team, told Reuters ..." Alistair Doyle, Reuters, 10-6-08

"The welfare of the world’s poor and uprooted people is increasingly at risk as the international community struggles with a combination of adverse economic, social and political trends that threaten to trigger even more displacement in the years to come, UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres warned ...Climate change, extreme poverty and conflict are increasingly inter-related, he said. As a result, forced displacement is on the increase, and along with it demands on UNHCR." Refugees and displaced top 37 million, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 10-7-08

Some Related Posts

Sustainability Update: The Constitutional Rights of Pachamama?

Climate Crisis & Sustainability Update: Today, the Polar Bears, Tomorrow, the Humans

Sustainability Update: Dead Zones & the Rise of Slime Threaten This Ocean Planet

Climate Crisis & Sustainability: Say No to Milk & Steak and Pay NOT to Cut Down the Rainforests

Richard Power's Left-Handed Security: Overcoming Fear, Greed & Ignorance in This Era of Global Crisis is available now! Click here for more information.

For the Words of Power Climate Crisis Updates Archive, click here.

For a Words of Power Archive of posts on the Crisis in Darfur, click here.

For a directory of Words of Power Human Rights Updates, click here.

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