Dr. Richard Leakey, famed paleoanthropologist, has sounded a warning concerning the fate of the world’s great apes, but not from the threat you might expect. While Leakey acknowledges that our closest relatives are at risk due to climate change caused by global warming, he also warned of the risk to biodiversity, including apes, as a result of the human response to global warming, namely the increased reliance on biofuels (think ethanol or biodiesel).
He said that “great swathes” of forest had already been destroyed in South Asia to make way for palm oil plantations [used in personal care products], and this had had a dramatic impact on orangutans, which currently number 50,000.
The pressure to grow cash crops has the potential to accelerate habitat destruction in the world’s poorest countries. Even worse, clear cutting indigenous forests could exacerbate the effects of global warming by decreasing habitats which absorb greenhouse gases.
“It does seem that we cannot stop development, but it does also seem that perhaps we can stop development where critical species are threatened.”
As we attempt to decrease our dependence on fossil fuels and find clean energy alternatives, we must also protect biodiversity on this planet, and ensure that third world countries have sustainable economies, so that they aren’t forced to destroy their natural resources to survive.
Tags: Anthropology, climate-change, effects-of-global-warming, great-apes, sustainable-economies, Technology
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