Humans Need Biodiversity | Science
Book review by David P. Mindell (subscription required)
Unlike fluctuating oil prices, declining species populations or outright extinctions do not have immediate, tangible impact on the cost of travel, food, or heat. Of course there are, and will be, substantial impacts from species loss, although our understanding of them is rudimentary. Handicapping our efforts, we still don't have a detailed inventory of Earth's organismal diversity. ...
In a comprehensive and compelling fashion, Sustaining Life, edited by Eric Chivian and Aaron Bernstein (physicians at Harvard University's Center for Health and the Global Environment), makes the case that the maintenance of biological diversity and human well-being are deeply entwined. ...
[R]aising public awareness and the political will to sustain biological diversity over time will require more than just science. We also need advocacy (which Sustaining Life ably serves) and greater legal and ethical commitments to conservation practices. Perhaps shining a bright light on the tight connections between sustainability practices and human survival could make conservation not only a practical concern but an ethical and moral one as well.
