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In a report by the United Nations–backed panel named the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, researchers report that 1 million species are threatened with extinction. Global biodiversity is declining at “unprecedented” speed and that speed is “accelerating,” states a press release.
In the 39 page summary of the report, the authors state that 75 percent of Earth’s land surface has been “significantly altered,” 25 percent of species that were assessed are threatened with extinction, and biological communities are becoming “more similar to each other in both managed and unmanaged systems within and across regions.” In addition, the human population has doubled in the last 50 years, creating more demand for energy and resources.
This report lays out in detail how human activities over the last several decades have harmed the environment and biodiversity. “We are eroding the very foundations of our economies, ...
