WILDLY WEIRD FRIENDS
DECADE OF DISCOVERY -
The World Wildlife Federation has announced that more than 1200 species of plants and animals
have been discovered in the Amazon between 1999 - 2000. In fact, on average, a new species was discovered EVERY THREE DAYS for the past
10 years! The report Amazon Alive!
counts 637 new plants, 257 fish, 216 amphibians, 55 reptiles, 16 bird and 39 mammal discoveries since 1999, making the
South American rainforest one of the most diverse regions on Earth.
The "BLUE-FANG TARANTULA", shown above, is just one of the amazing creatures recently discovered.
Found in French Guiana, the Ephabopus cyanognathus, is almost completely brown except for a pair of electric blue fangs, and
according to WWF, has a taste for BIRDS.
NEED TO KNOW
Biodiversity is the abundance and variety of life on Earth. The
numbers of species of plants, animals, microorganisms, the many different ecosystems on the planet such as deserts, rainforests
and the deep oceans, are all a part of biodiversity on Earth.
Biodiversity boosts ecosystem productivity where each species, no matter how small or strange,
all have an important role to play in the overall health of our planet.
While there might be "survival of the fittest" within a given species, no species survives on its own.
Each species depends on the services provided by other species to ensure survival. This cooperation and "connectedness"
is what a "balanced ecosystem" refers to and we cannot survive on Earth without it.
A healthy biodiversity provides us with the basics of life--clean water, food (plant and animal form),
the air we breathe, medicines, even our cultural values.
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CREATURE FEATURE
Blobfish (Psychrolutes marcidus)
The unbelievably ugly Blobfish live in ocean depths off the coast of Australia, where the pressure is much higher than at the
surface. Its flesh is composed primarily of a gooey, gelatinous substance
which allows it to survive in the deep sea. This fish is very
inactive and just floats near the sea floor waiting for the next meal
to come around and drift into its huge mouth.
The blobfish is severly threatened and is often caught and killed in
nets used by trawler fisherman.
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PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
The Human Element - While we may understand the need for a healthy, biodiverse planet, humans have
unfortunately caused catastrophic damage to the planet in our brief time walking on it. Our ever increasing population is in a
constant quest for more of EVERYTHING. We over-fish and pollute the oceans, we destroy forests for development, wood, charcoal and to create pastures for livestock.
Our dependance on fossil fuels fills the atmosphere with damaging CO2 and other gases that have caused the Earth to get warmer, creating
global climate change. As the population of our planet reaches 7 BILLION, we must all come to a basic realization--without strategies
to preserve our natural resources, they will simply RUN OUT.
Luckily, we are a smart species. We know how to create solutions to the complex problems facing our future. Solar energy, wind energy, alternative forms
of farming, harnessing electricity to fuel our cars--all of these are solutions we already have at hand. The next step is for industry leaders and
governments to make these
solutions simple and easy for everyone to use NOW. There really isn't a choice anymore, is there?
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