World financial systems took extreme risks that stunned us all. We will pay the consequences. We react with alarm to the collapse on Wall Street, but the collapse of our ecosystems often receives only passing consideration. We will all pay the consequences of this, too, now and in the future.
Accustomed to the availability of our natural resources, we think of them as free and take them for granted. But, a decade ago, the World Resources Institute estimated an annual global price tag of $33 trillion dollars for ecosystem services.
These services would be expensive, difficult or impossible to obtain without functioning ecosystems. We rely upon them to provide clean water and air, cycle carbon and other nutrients, and decompose wastes.
We have squandered these valuable resources. Between 40 and 50 percent of the Earth's ice-free land surface is damaged by human activity. Carbon dioxide emissions increased 3.1 percent per year between 2000 and 2006, more than twice the growth rate of the 1990s, despite unambiguous evidence that it was causing climate change and disrupting ecosystems worldwide.
Utah can expect to warm faster than other parts of the world, a trend that would result in decreased snow pack and threatens us with severe and prolonged drought.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature found 25-36 percent of mammal species on Earth are being pushed to extinction. Habitat loss and degradation affect 40 percent of the world's mammals, who play key roles in ecosystems and provide irreplaceable benefits to us.
This loss is certainly not limited to charismatic mega fauna like bears or mountain-dwelling pikas. About 40 percent of North American freshwater fish are threatened. The Global Amphibian Assessment found 32.3 percent endangered. At least 22 percent of reptile species are at risk of extinction.
Populations of 20 common North American birds have decreased by more than half in the past four decades, including the evening grosbeak and northern pintail.
Because four unique ecosystems intersect in Utah, we are ranked fifth in the nation for biodiversity. The Great Salt Lake may be one of the most vulnerable wetlands in the United States to be affected by climate change. The Utah sensitive species list includes 28 mollusk species, 22 fish species, five amphibian species, 13 reptile species, 22 bird species and 19 mammal species.
The extinction rate is accelerating rapidly due to human activities. How many bricks can you take out of a wall and still have a wall?
Climate change and habitat loss are going to affect wildlife and fisheries. Utah forests could decline as much as 15-30 percent and be more susceptible to wildfire. In this arid landscape, streams and rivers are highly vulnerable to climate change and, coupled with increased human demands on water, the few wetland habitats that exist in Utah could be degraded or destroyed. This will impact hunting and fishing enthusiasts as well as those who just enjoy wildlife.
Generally, habitats and animals are resilient and, given a chance, many can survive. We can provide that chance by engaging in a renewed conservation ethic, one learned when early Westerners depleted big game and fisheries resources.
A century ago, we preserved our wildlife and fisheries, thanks to the efforts of conservationists like Teddy Roosevelt and organizations like the Sierra Club and the National Wildlife Federation.
Lessons learned then now teach us to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, conserve energy and develop renewable sources. We use these lessons when we buy locally produced food and reduce transportation costs, when we limit the pollutants we allow into the air, when we each recognize ourselves as agents of change.
Marion Klaus is a biologist who has researched at-risk mammals in the Western United States and Costa Rica. She has done genetic engineering research at the Moran Eye Center and works as a consultant for Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment and as a volunteer with Intermountain Therapy Animals.
