Wilderness Almost Non-Existent on Planet Earth: Study
An AFP newswire article, via PhysOrg.com, reports that:
Earth is so tamed that conservationism should shift focus from protecting nature from humans to better understanding and managing a domesticated world, the authors said.More here.
"There is no such thing as nature untainted by people," writes Peter Kareiva, chief scientist at the Nature Conservancy, a US-based non-profit group. "Facing this reality should change the scientific focus of environmental science.''
As of 1995, only 17 percent of the world's land area remained truly wild -- with no human populations, crops, road access or night-time light detectable by satellite, the authors reported.
Half of the world's surface area is used for crops or grazing; more than half of all forests have been lost to land conversion; the largest land mammals on several continents have been eliminated; shipping lanes crisscross the oceans, according to the paper [.pdf].
posted by Fergie @ 6/28/2007 11:20:00 AM
1 Comments:
Additionally, you can read an in-depth Q&A with the author of the paper, Peter Kareiva of The Nature Conservancy.
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