ABSTRACT
There were many reasons why extant biological diversity represents less than 1 percent of all life forms that ever called Earth home: asteroid impacts, excessive temperatures hot or cold (climate change), disease, predators and competitors, minute evolutionary shifts that are the very nature of nature itself. Chapter 9 helps us understand the efforts by science, government and conservationists to save biodiversity and the services species and ecosystems render to us. Focus has been, for example, on enigmatic species such as elephant, tiger and giraffe, honeybees and other pollinators; ecosystems like the highly diverse tropical rainforests and coral reefs; and myriads of microorganisms. The upkeep of life’s diversity is a major goal not only of conservation planning by environmentalists and governments but also for the “right” development trajectory of humankind. Iterated repeatedly throughout the book, the question remains: Have we the will to do so and are we able to take the urgent measures as needed?
