Nothing on the UK’s Budget this week. It was well leaked and consequently boring. You just hope the Government doesn’t lose its reputation for prudence, which is the only really positive attribute it has left…
More important just now is analysis published this week by the Living Planet Report 2018, compiled by the Zoological Society of London and the conservation charity, WWF, concluding that humans are to blame for a staggering 60% loss of the world’s wildlife from 1970 to 2014, the most recent year for which data is available.
The list of damage done is depressing. Elephants in Tanzania down by 60% since 2009, grey parrots in Ghana down 98% since 1992 and Borneo’s orangutans down by 50% in just 16 years. These are just a few of the alarming statistics.
‘Exploding human consumption’ is the culprit as palm oil, soy plantations, dams, roads and overfishing chew up vast tracts of wildlife habitat.
We have Trump in the White House tearing up international agreements, now Bolsonaro in Brazil who may allow even greater deforestation there and, to cap it all, China has just lifted a ban on rhino and tiger ‘remedies’.
Have we ever had a more irresponsible governing class globally, who seem to be racing to destroy the planet for the next generation? Great campaigns on global warming and removing plastic from the seas are something; but if world leaders don’t play ball more widely, we have no chance of improving our environment in all senses.
And where are young people in all this? If they cared enough and voted, they would be a force to be reckoned with in key democracies. We don’t need votes for 16 year olds. Just getting decent numbers of 18-24 year olds out to vote would be a start. If it is not too much of a stretch, there are similarities with Brexit here in the UK. Like Brexit, the disastrous impact of our actions on the environment and the wildlife we share it with disproportionately affects younger generations. We need a generation of activists. Get onto it!
In addition, the UN needs to be more aggressive, the EU bolder and, yes, governments more interventionist driven by the concerns of the electorate. The dire consequences of the race to ever cheaper food in western countries must be articulated. A laissez-faire approach is no longer an option. There isn’t the time.
Inside Right Politics 