'Fewer creatures great and small' Article Summmary

The article ’Fewer creatures great and small' was printed in 'The Economist' on October 16th 2008. Here is the link to the article: http://www.economist.com/world/international/displayStory.cfm?source=hptextfeature&story_id=12432305

This article is about how, due to mankind, the rate of extinction is at an all-time high and though steps such as the Convention of Biological Diversity have been taken, no real effort is being made to preserve the world’s biodiversity. The formerly mentioned treaty was signed by nearly all governments in 2002 and vowed to significantly reduce the rate of loss of biodiversity by 2010. However, this goal seems impossible to reach now, as the newest version of the red list of threatened species published by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) shows that, for example, 223 species whose condition had changed from the previous year are now closer to extinction. A major factor affecting this rate is global warming, which according to predictions, could kill 20 -30% of species if global average temperatures increased by more than 2°C. What people don’t realize is that many benefits come from natural processes, for example, the pollination of crops, whose losses cost the world inordinate amounts of money each year. A solution, though it is not flawless, was proposed by Johan Eliasch. He stated that if forests were included in the carbon market, therefore forcing the reduction of deforestation (which accounts for very high carbon emissions), then global warming could be slowed and biodiversity could be saved, in addition to poverty being lessened. The problem with this plan is that it would cost the world huge, according to predictions, $4 billion a year for 5 years and a further $ 11-19 billion until 2020. However, deforestation rates would decrease by 75% by 2030 and carbon emissions would sink by 50%. At the moment, the world will have to make do with the small steps made by a small percentage of the world’s countries. Yet at present moment, the economic crisis is probably the primary problem on these governments’ minds.
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