I recently read a most thought-provoking column in the New York Times entitled “It’s Too Late for Later” which brought into sharper focus the need for urgent action to address the potentially disastrous impact that we are having upon life on our planet.
Brazil and Indonesia are among the most important areas on the globe for plant and animal bio-diversity. Just one and a half acres on the island of Borneo contains more different tree species than all of North America. There are animals that exist only on this immense island and nowhere else on earth. If these plant and animal species are lost, they are gone forever. The sad reality is that we are losing these unique species at an alarming rate. Indonesia is losing tropical rain forests the size of Maryland every single year and the carbon that is released from forest clearing - much of it illegal - has made Indonesia the third largest producer of green house gases in the world, after the United States and China. This deforestation actually accounts for more greenhouse gas emissions than all the cars and trucks in the world.
The Times column concludes that “later” is over for our generation. Today’s global economy is wiping out more and more of the natural world and we need to think big and start with small projects now - before everything becomes too late.
Your Zoo is thinking big and starting small. Our newest exhibit, the
McNeil Avian Center, scheduled to open in March 2009 will be powered by geothermal energy - an important small step. Thinking big, we have made a significant environmental commitment: to be energy neutral as a 24-7 organization within 10 years. Additionally, we are acting now in partnership with overseas programs in Borneo and Brazil, not only to save habitat but also to reforest lost habitat and assist in species preservation. In Borneo, pygmy elephants and orangutans will share the new forest while in Brazil, golden lion tamarins will have more room to roam.
In the coming months as we approach our 150th anniversary of our founding next year, we will share with you more specific actions that we are taking and that you can also take to preserve wildlife here at home and around the world. I invite you to join us in thinking big, starting quick and acting now - there really is no time for later.