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by Mildred Boyd
In
the past 24 hours, while you ate, slept, worked and played, 48 living
species winked out of existence! Think about it!
True; natural selection and cataclysmic
events have been weeding earth’s flora and fauna since life began
but the activities of mankind have accelerated the process alarmingly.
Environmental scientists now estimate that 17,000 species now disappear
each year. Despite its relatively small land area, Mexico is rich in animal
life, ranking second among world populations, of mammals, fourth among
amphibians and first among reptiles. Unfortunately, 12.5% of its many
birds, 25% of its mammals and 50% of its reptiles and amphibians are threatened
with extinction.
True also, many of the threatened
species have long been considered pests with no earthly use that we
know of. And there’s the rub. Of a possible 30 million life
forms only about two million have even been classified with less than
one per cent of those extensively studied. Suppose one of yesterday’s
victims had been a lowly mold like the one that gave us penicillin?
Tomorrow, another 48 will be missing.
Many of them are already doomed. Doesn’t it make sense to save as
many as we can while it’s still possible?