If you picked up a newspaper today, you would have seen headlines about Presidential candidates, the Occupy Wall Street movement, Facebook’s business deals, and an Israeli soldier about to be freed in Palestine. Beyond the front page, you might read about turmoil in the Slovakian government or Obama’s jobs bill. Most of these stories seem important and worth a read. But are they the most important stories of the day? For some time now, scientists have been alerting us that Earth is facing a “sixth extinction,” meaning that in our lifetimes up to half of the species that currently live on our planet could be wiped out. The previous five extinctions, taking place over the 4 billion years the Earth has existed, are thought to have been caused by extreme events like meteors and volcanic activities. But the current mass extinction we’re going through is caused by humans; our pollution, destruction of habitat, and overpopulation are just a few ways we’re wiping out hundreds of plants and animals every single day.
Isn’t the prospect of losing forever creatures like the elephant, polar bear, and chimpanzee important enough to make the front pages of the paper, every single day? Why isn’t our national conversation dominated by how to save the honey bee (whose extinction would mean collapse of most ecosystems worldwide)? I’m not saying we shouldn’t be worried about our economy, that articles about endangered orangutans should replace quality information about the government’s plans to create jobs. But if we don’t work fast to learn about the crisis and to save species across the globe, the unemployment rate will be the least of our worries, since human survival depends on all the species that are now at risk.
If you’d like to learn about the Sixth Extinction, we’re pleased to announce that we’re holding a screening of a new documentary, Call of Life, which explores this topic. Watching this film might give you information and a perspective you will never get by watching or reading the daily news! The film not only looks at the crisis in biodiversity, but also the elements of human nature that have brought us to this point, and how we can change our thinking in order to reverse course.
Watch the Trailer below, and Join us in Berkeley on Thursday, 10/20!
