Center for Biological Diversity, Endangered Species Director Noah Greenwald

"We want those who come after us to inherit a world where the wild is still alive."

Hailey Jurgens here.

Posting about an interview I had with Noah Greenwald, the Endangered Species Director for the Center for Biological Diversity. The Center for Biological Diversity believes that every species has an intrinsic right to live. Their work focuses on protecting the lands, waters, and climate that species require to survive through a combination of science, law, and creative media. The Center is the nation’s leader in preserving endangered species, having secured Endangered Species Act protection for hundreds of species and hundreds of millions of acres of land and water.  Edward Humes, renowned author has said, " The modern American environmental movement has been reinvented by the center. " in his book Eco Barons. 

 Noah Greenwald directs the centers efforts to protect new species under the Endangered Species Act. He also works to educate the public on the importance of protecting biodiversity, and the multitude of threats facing North American Wildlife. He holds a bachelors in science ecology and a master's in forest ecology and conservation.I contacted Mr. Greenwald, believing that an interview with him would help to convey the imperative state of Earths biodiversity. In hopes that out of the number of people Earthscope Media reaches, at least some will be inspired to take action. Noah likewise believes we desperately need to grasp peoples attention, the loss of these species is irreversible and will impact everything around us.  The knowledge I've gained from Noah as well as the Centers website has greatly impacted me, and it needs to be shared. What took 4 billion years to create is disappearing far more quickly than most of us realize. Currently, species are going extinct at 1,000-10,000 times the natural rate. We are experiencing the worst series of species die-offs since the loss of the dinosaurs!

"Beyond its intrinsic value, biodiversity is necessary to human survival. Ecosystem diversity is crucial to ecosystem integrity, which in turn enables our life support, giving us a livable climate, breathable air, and drinkable water. Food-crop diversity and pollinating insects and bats allow agriculture to support our populations; when disease strikes a food crop, only diversity can save the system from collapse. Plant and animal diversity provide building blocks for medicine, both current and potential; almost half of the pharmaceuticals used in the United States today are manufactured using natural compounds, many of which cannot be synthesized. They also provide critical industrial products used to build our homes and businesses, from wood and rubber to the fuels that underpin our economies — even coal and oil are the products of ancient plant matter and preserved zooplankton remains.

Biodiversity plays a central mythic and symbolic role in our language, religion, literature, art, and music, making it a key component of human culture with benefits to society that have not been quantified but are clearly vast. From our earliest prehistory, people have never lived in a world with low biodiversity. We've always been dependent on a varied and rich natural environment for both our physical survival and our psychological and spiritual health. As extinctions multiply, and cannot be undone, we tread further and further into unexplored terrain — a journey from which there is no return."-excerpt from The Elements of Biodiversity 

Please, visit the Center for Biological Diversity's website to learn more.

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/index.html

Also see the petition site, take action and make an impact simply by signing. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/