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The report makes clear: The swell of extinction is more rapid now than at any point since the dawn of humanity. Species are vanishing up to 1,000 times faster than normal — the consequence of a rising human population and its resource demands. Our impulse is to scramble for a mop, to stem the consequences of the flood rather than deal with its source. We tinker with offsets, control of predators, technological fixes, weak regulations and mild incentives while we hunt for resources to replace those we depleted. As the waters threaten to overwhelm us, we remain fixed on the immediacy of business-as-usual. We cast around for more buckets.

The swell of extinction is more rapid now than at any point since the dawn of humanity. Species are vanishing up to 1,000 times faster than normal.

Are we simply mad? From ecology, we know the practicality of biodiversity for people. Species and their services are the underpinning of our wealth and welfare. We know the enhanced resilience and productivity of ecosystems when species are plentiful. A rich mix of plants, animals and microbes is an insurance policy with good dividends. And we intuitively grasp the finality of extinction. The disappearance of species, we know, is the only human impact that is truly irreversible. Extinction is eternal.

And there’s the clue to the crisis: Time. In our hurried society, what often passes as success are short-term achievements — higher yields and higher profits, with a focus on the next quarter, next year, or next election. Eternity, you might say, requires a longer view. Curbing extinction is a long-term enterprise. Success is typically measured in decades, often beyond individual careers and lifetimes.