As the world reels from the hurricane that has been devastating global markets, an article on the BBC website puts things into perspective. According to a new study commissioned by the European Commission, we are losing “more money from the disappearance of forests than through the current banking crisis”. And how much?, I hear you ask … The study puts the annual cost of forest loss at between $2 trillion and $5 trillion, an amount calculated by adding the value of the various (free) services that forests perform, such as providing clean water and absorbing carbon dioxide.
The study was headed by a Deutsche Bank economist as a way to launch a stern and understandable message to politicians who should be giving top priority to the conservation of ecosystems and the non-human earthlings who inhabit them. It’s a no-brainer, really. We need nature to survive, otherwise we’re done with, finito! If they can find the money to bail out banks, then …
These findings were broadcast from the World Conservation Congress in Barcelona, Spain, which closes tomorrow. The event also revealed that at least 1,141 of the 5,487 mammals on Earth are known to be threatened with extinction. Which means that besides trashing the place for ourselves we are not only making the planet hell for the other animals, we are exterminating them. Let’s hope whoever takes the helm of the White House is listening.
