One mammal responsible for risks.
"Within our lifetime hundreds of species could be lost as a result of our own actions, a frightening sign of what is happening to the ecosystems where they live," says Julia Marton-Lefèvre, IUCN Director General. "We must now set clear targets for the future to reverse this trend to ensure that our enduring legacy is not to wipe out many of our closest relatives."
The real situation could be much worse as 836 mammals are listed as Data Deficient. With better information more species may well prove to be in danger of extinction.
"The reality is that the number of threatened mammals could be as high as 36 percent," says Jan Schipper, of Conservation International and lead author in a forthcoming article in Science. "This indicates that conservation action backed by research is a clear priority for the future, not only to improve the data so that we can evaluate threats to these poorly known species, but to investigate means to recover threatened species and populations."
Our economy is a collective noetic fantasy with the potential -- as we are finding out from day to day -- to generate widespread individualized consequences.
If destruction of a noetic fantasy is this destabilizing, how destabilizing must the destruction of the physical and biological substrate on which it rests be?
The certainty is that we will find out if McCain/Palin are elected.
It is also certain that the election of Obama/Biden is a necessary, but insufficient, condition for minimizing the damage.
Forget the poll.
Here's the real question: How do we plan to pressure President Obama to address the unfolding global ecological crisis more seriously than he has addressed the global economic crisis?
Ideas?