Do you care that lots of species are dying out?

[clairemcnam]

We are hurtling towards the sixth world mass extinction. An estimated 150-200 species of plants, mammals, insect and birds die out every 24 hours. Do you worry about this and its impact?

INsects have a direct impact on our ability to feed ourselves so yes it is worrying but it seems the rich and powerful are confident they will be alright

Agreed, but looks like nobody else cares sadly.

Yes, a lot. I try to do my bit especially in the garden but others don’t.

roughly 80 mammals have become extinct since 1500. Not really a massive amount.
And I'm not quite sure why you think most people wouldn't be concerned about insects etc. dying out? not an opinion I've ever heard

I’m massively concerned. It hugely occupies my mind; more than any other news. I’m baffled as to why others aren’t more bothered. Why isn’t it front page news every day?

Yes. It’s a concern. To be honest though, I do wonder if the climax of the 6th mass extinction will be where humans extinct themselves by ruining the environment to the point where it’s unliveable. That sounds crazy but we’re already moving toward that with the permanent evacuation of some Pacific islands due to sea level rise, and the likely abandonment of some areas as temperatures rise.

We’re just another species, we just happen to have done a hell of a lot more to degrade the planet. Anthropocene etc.

I worry about this alot. Sometimes I think am I the only person who worries? I know of course scientists and people are but Im referring to the general public. Ive started trying to do things to save insects. Insect boxes, plants that attract insects. Etc

Its a concern. What can we as individuals do when governments wont act?

Only in so far as it effects farming/weather patterns. The extinction in and of itself is just a part of evolution and natural selection, circle of life and so on. The effect that this could have on human life however could be catastrophic.

@zennudist making ethical consumer and lifestyle choices can go a long way. Individual choices have a cumulative effect.

I’m so worried about it, people are far too self-centred and entitled to deal with it. They’d rather ruin the planet than go without unnecessary luxury. Absolutely heartbreaking.

Yes concerns me. The loss of certain species of bees will cause the loss of certain native plants.

It's depressing to think certain animals now only exist in captivity. Some of the numbers of the amount of breeding pairs is depressing.

I’m no saint but I see people on here justifying why they zoflora everything that doesn’t move and washing all their towels daily and I wonder if they’ve every given any thought to the environment at all.

I agree. I watch those stupid dettol anti-bacterial spray adverts and wonder why people would be moronic enough to buy into this stuff

It worries me and saddens me a great deal.

I wonder if all the trendy vegans give it a thought when they are stuffing their faces with the plant based products that have been sprayed with pesticides and mixed with palm oil.

Apparently there will be tiny drones to fertilize the crops when the bees are gone.

People are eating pangolins as they are a delicacy, not for much longer as there won't be any.

Avocados are causing problems now.

Animals being killed for trophies.

I despair.

It doesn’t bother me. It’s out of my hands, nothing I can do about it. There’s no point chewing myself up about it because it’s behind my control.

Ashamed to say but I didn't know the figure was this high. That's unbelievably staggering.

Yes, absolutely. I'm a druid and the natural world is central to who I am. I do everything I can to help to preserve the planet and minimise impact, but things have gone way too far now and I can't realistically see how it can be reversed.

Unfortunately, human beings aren't supposed to live the way they're living, but the steps we need to take in order to restore balance are unthinkable so will never take place.

It upsets me hugely, OP. I'm not someone who changes the world, though.

I care. I wish sometimes that we didn't exist as a species and I sort of hope in a way that one day we don't. I daydream sometimes what the landscapes would look like without buildings and roads and animals native to a country would run free, reproduce and hunt and live without interference. I realise this is just a dream and I'm trying my bit through donations and restricting my impact on the planet but it feels futile as I see so many around me not giving a shit.

ohholy I think this way too. Except I fret about the bloody nuclear power stations and their waste which will start to leak out after several decades. We have buggered this beautiful planet.

I’m not sure what Druidism is but I feel drawn to it. I detest this world of greed and excess and people who don’t care or who are unwilling to change so frustrating and I assume they are either stupid, lazy or both

Yes, I am really, really worried about it and shocked that so many people don’t seem to care. For a long time this was an issue that people thought “might or might not happen in the future” but actually, this is happening right now. The scary thing is so many people don’t really understand the full implications.