Robert Clarkさんのインスタグラム写真 - (Robert ClarkInstagram)「Up to 1 million of the estimated 8 million plant and animal species on Earth are at risk of extinction — many of them within decades — according to scientists and researchers who produced a sweeping U.N. report on how humanity's burgeoning growth is putting the world's biodiversity at perilous risk. Some of the report's findings might not seem new to those who have followed stories of how humans have affected the environment, from shifts in seasons to the prevalence of plastics and other contaminants in water. But its authors say the assessment is the most accurate and comprehensive review yet of the damage people are inflicting on the planet. And they warn that nature is declining at "unprecedented" rates and that the changes will put people at risk. "Protecting biodiversity amounts to protecting humanity," UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said at a news conference about the findings Monday morning. The report depicts "an ominous picture," says Sir Robert Watson, chair of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services compiled the assessment. "Insect pollinators are unfortunately an excellent example of the problems caused by human activities," Scott McArt, an entomology professor at Cornell University, says in a statement about the report. "There's actually a newly coined phrase for insect declines — the 'windshield effect' — owing to the fact that if you drove your car at dusk 30 years ago, you would need to clean the windshield frequently, but that's no longer the case today," McArt says. In its tally of humanity's toll on the Earth, the assessment says "approximately 60 billion tons of renewable and nonrenewable resources are now extracted globally every year," adding that the figure has nearly doubled since 1980. Here's a short selection of some of the report's notable findings: 75% of land environment and some 66% of the marine environment "have been significantly altered by human actions." "More than a third of the world's land surface and nearly 75% of freshwater resources" are used for crops or livestock Photo #1 critical endangered Sumatriptan Rhino #2 Orchid #3 Bog in Denmark #4 leaf insect. (WordsbyNPR)」5月7日 23時46分