Biologist Edward Wilson believes nature is in peril again, but the cause is homegrown now.

"We are the meteorite strike this time," said Wilson, who will deliver the lecture "The Future of Life" at Kingsbury Hall on Wednesday to a sold-out theater. The talk will be broadcast at 7 p.m. on KCPW, 88.3 FM.

In recent decades, plant, insect and plant species around the world have been disappearing at an alarming rate. And humans, Wilson argues, are the main culprit.

While people are becoming more and more aware of the dangers of global warming, relatively little attention is being paid to the world's shrinking biodiversity, he said. People are destroying South American rainforests, hotbeds of species diversity, to make way for farmland.

"Every indicator shows we've reached the point where we're doing serious damage to the planet and life here," Wilson said.

Without a change in course, future generations may be left with a lower quality of life. Wilson said it is not too late to take action.

As part of Wilson's lecture, presented by the Utah Museum of Natural History, he will discuss two of his recent books: The Future of Life and The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth.

In The Creation, Wilson tries to convince evangelical Christians of the need to preserve biodiversity.

He said this is an untapped segment of the U.S. population that could help in the fight to help the planet.

Wilson wants religious leaders to take a more active interest in preserving the natural world.

He also offers several specific options for saving the species that remain.

One idea is to protect specific biodiversity hotspots, such as certain remaining rain forests.

Because many threatened areas are found in developing nations, Wilson argues that the developed nations' economic aid should be targeted to these areas. With proper funding, governments can find jobs to prevent people from destroying natural habitats to create marginally productive farmland.

People need to find ways to continue economic growth without sacrificing nature's remaining "capital" resources.

Some estimates place potential solutions at a cost of tens of billions of dollars, which may seem like a lot, but isn't much considering the annual gross national products of the world's leading countries. Wilson said to reverse the damage, people may need to make minor financial sacrifices, such as buying more expensive, but more environmentally friendly light bulbs or buying sustainable lumber for construction purposes.

"We're not talking about World War II sacrifices," he said. "We're talking about pennies here, pennies there."

Bill Newmark, a research curator at the museum, said Wilson's work over the past few decades has helped revolutionize several areas of biology.

"He's become an articulate proponent for biodiversity and the threats facing biodiversity," Newmark said.

Wilson's career has ranged from the biology of ants to theories that help explain what determines the number of species an island can support.

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* GREG LAVINE can be contacted at glavine@sltrib.com or at 801-257-8620. Send comments about this story to livingeditor@sltrib.com.

Edward O. Wilson, Mellon Professor of the Sciences and Pellegrino University professor emeritus will speak Wednesday evening on Earth's future.