Question

A life on our planet paragraph

Answer 1

• David Attenborough maps out how humanity’s wanton destruction of nature will render the planet totally degraded and barren, uninhabitable for millions of people and bringing biodiversity populations crashing. Since the 1950s, animal populations have more than halved, while domestic birds’ populations have skyrocketed; 70% of the mass of the birds on the planet are domestic birds- mostly chickens. Humans account for over one-third of the weight of mammals on Earth. A further 60% of animals are those that are raised for us to eat. The rest- “from mice to whales”- make up just 4%. Domestic animals require vast swathes of land and half of the fertile land on the planet is now farmland.
• Humans cut down up to 15 billion trees per year; this is just one facet of the planet’s degradation thanks to humans, which has resulted in 30% of fish stocks being fished to critical levels and freshwater populations declining by over 80%. The Arctic, one of the coldest and remote places on Earth, has experienced summer sea ice reducing by 40% in 40 years.
• If deforestation in the Amazon rainforest continues, it will degrade to a point where it can no longer produce enough moisture, transforming into a dry savanna. Not only will this decimate the biodiversity in the rainforest, but it will also alter the global water cycle.
• Additionally, the Arctic will start experiencing ice-free summers. Without the white ice caps, less of the sun’s energy will be reflected back into space, which will accelerate global warming.