
Earth has lost half of its wildlife in the past 40 years (2014) - Red_Tarsius
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/sep/29/earth-lost-50-wildlife-in-40-years-wwf
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dflock
Not coincidentally, the human population has doubled in the same timeframe.

Is everyone else screaming inside, or is it just me?

~~~
CalRobert
Only a few people, I think. It's like we found the asteroid headed for Earth
and instead of panicking, just shrugged.

There are probably fifty times a day I feel a deep seated dreadxiety about
something I'm doing. Wearing synthetic fibre. Finding out a soap has triclosan
in it. Using a disposable nappy. Eating an avocado. Eating fish (appropriately
enough, eating said synthetic fibres in that fish). And yet I have colleagues
who toss aluminium cans into the garbage when the recycling is RIGHT NEXT TO
IT and they do. Not. Care. I don't know what to do. Individual action is
meaningless - every gallon of gas I don't burn just makes it cheaper for
someone else. Maybe even the driver who wants to mow me down. I despair.

~~~
lostmsu
Get used to it. Everything comes to an end. All your favorite animals will,
and humans will, and whatever comes after them.

I highly doubt consuming meat today affects lifestyle of most humans in 50
years noticeably.

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CalRobert
True, and given the heat death of the universe I'm pretty nihilistic, but I
like to think there is purpose in even temporary goodness and beauty. A bell's
ring will fade to nothing but their sound still brought joy, if only briefly.

~~~
arvinsim
Nothing wrong about being an anti-nihilist.
[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheAntiNihilist](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheAntiNihilist)

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JohnStudio
Does anyone know the source of those stats?

"steep decline of animal, fish and bird numbers was calculated by analyzing
10,000 different populations, covering 3,000 species"

Logistically speaking, I'd like to know how they tracked that. I've seen how
caribou are tracking in Canada rather effectively
([http://mffp.gouv.qc.ca/the-wildlife/hunting-fishing-
trapping...](http://mffp.gouv.qc.ca/the-wildlife/hunting-fishing-
trapping/caribou-migration-monitoring-by-satellite-telemetry/?lang=en))

However, specifics of their research I'd find very interesting if indeed I
could see it sited.

Any help?

~~~
gramstrong
Not by tracking, really, but I'd assume by population sampling. Rough counting
of a species in an area or on a migration path, and then comparing it to
historical data.

~~~
stevenwoo
There was a more recent study about insects in Europe confirming your
assumption. [https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-11-14/global-population-
fly...](https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-11-14/global-population-flying-
insects-crashing-dangerously-fast)

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jefflombardjr
This article is from 2014. The fact that it is 2018 and we still have to
convince people this is a bad thing is alarming.

~~~
goatlover
Problem is how many people really care enough to do much about it?

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AnimalMuppet
I think it's more brutal than that. How many humans are we willing to kill (or
watch them die) in order to do much about it?

Most humans care some about animals, but they care more about humans.

(Yes, I am well aware that the developed world could accept a lower standard
of living, and that would help. I question whether it's enough. And yes, I am
aware that that is not an excuse for the developed world to do nothing.)

~~~
prepend
This is a good point as while there’s not an agreed upon formula for how many
nonhumans are worth a human, I’m certain that the vast majority will
prioritize human life over animals.

Fortunately, the human growth rate is stabilizing so hopefully we can figure
out how to have humans grow to a natural equilibrium AND keep diverse
ecosystem. If the question is framed as either humans or animals, society will
end up with only zoos, farms, and humans.

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shivrajrath
Steep incline in usage of synthetics and synthetic pollution might also be a
leading cause. We might have to use everything biodegradable and for long. No
wonder cancer, premature babies, allergies have increased in past years.

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RcouF1uZ4gsC
What if say 200 years from now, we have a human population of 20 billion
people where everyone lives like the current top 10% of people in the USA.
There is long life-expectancy, very low childhood mortality. Low inequality.

There are however no wild animals on land. Every land animal is either a pet,
livestock, or in a zoo or preserve. Except for the limited species above,
every other land species is extinct (but their DNA is preserved).

Would the above scenario be one that is appealing to you. Is wildlife and
ecological diversity a good apart from its human benefit? Is human good worth
harming ecological diversity for?

~~~
collyw
I am reading your post wondering how that could happen. Wildlife disappearing
is not the problem is merely as symptom of the problem - too many people.

~~~
RcouF1uZ4gsC
We have much more people on earth than we had 500 years ago. We probably have
much less wildlife than before. However, people now on average live longer,
healthier lives than before. As humans, we are much, much better off than we
were 500 years ago. Wildlife as a whole is probably worse off than it was 500
years ago. Thus, it is not an impossible scenario to have humans thriving, but
wildlife in serious danger.

~~~
collyw
> As humans, we are much, much better off than we were 500 years ago.

That's very subjective and depends on what you are measuring. Sure we have
less conflict, less people in absolute poverty, but we also have more people
in slavery than any time in history.

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burfog
It would continue even if we disappeared today.

We have spread invasive species all over the place. Many of them haven't even
been noticed yet. This includes stuff like soil fungus.

Even when we do notice, we do nothing. Cats are a huge problem, but obsessed
cat lovers are well-organized politically. They show up in force at every town
council and country commissioner meeting where a cat issue comes up, defending
stuff like giant feral cat colonies right next to the beach where endangered
beach mice should be reseeding the grass that holds the beach in place. [edit:
getting my cat lover downmods... but this is an actual problem causing beach
erosion in Florida, and there is indeed a giant cat colony in my area that
isn't more than 500 feet from the beach]

If we disappeared today, the extinctions would just continue.

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nojvek
Feral cats in Australia are seen as pests in some region.

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bornonline1
This is so sad.

