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SAVE THE
BIOSPHERE
AND YOU MAY
SAVE THE WORLD
HUMAN ACTIVITY AND BIODIVERSITY
B
iodiversity is the variety of
life on Earth—in all forms
and at every level, from
genes to microbes to humans and
all other species, including those
yet to be discovered. Humans rely
on biodiversity for food and fuel,
shelter, medicine, beauty, and
pleasure. For other species, it also
provides nutrients, seed dispersal,
pollination, and reproductive
success. No living thing could
survive without biodiversity.
Ecologists have identified
growing threats to biodiversity,
many of them driven by human
actions. The current rate of species
extinction is thought to be up to
1,000 times greater than it wasIN CONTEXT
KEY FIGURE
Edward O. Wilson (1929 –)BEFORE
1993 The UN proclaims
December 29 as the
International Day for
Biological Diversity.1996 The Song of the Dodo
by American science writer
David Quammen explores
the nature of evolution and
extinction as habitats become
more and more fragmented.AFTER
2014 The Sixth Extinction
by environmental journalist
Elizabeth Kolbert shows how
humans are causing a sixth
mass extinction of species.2016 In Half-Earth, Edward
Wilson proposes that Earth
can be saved by dedicating
half of it to nature.US_092-095_Human_activity_and_biodiversity.indd 92 12/11/18 6:24 PM