2010 Year of International Biodiversity

Now that I am in school at MIIS, in the International Environmental Policy program, I will be sharing tidbits that I learn at school.

Yesterday, for instance, I learned that 2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity. Did you know that? It was a date set out by the UN back when they thought, "sure, by 2010, we should have a lot of the biodiversity issues that we've created slowed or on the mend." In almost all the ways they measured success, the world has failed--it's just as bad, and often worse off than when they put forth the proposition that 2010 be the International Year of Biodiversity. A sobering example: 1/3 of amphibian species are threatened or endangered. I actually knew that, but what I didn't realize is that a whopping 70% of plant species are threatened or endangered. WTF! That's outrageous.

image from Prof. Langholz's lecture slides