United Nations Conference on Endangered Species: More Ants, Less Adorno
Let’s come to another problem that indirectly also concerns agriculture, or to which agriculture also contributes: Biodiversity. Because fertilizers and nitrogen in approximate quantities, as well as climate change, are extremely dangerous species and variety diversity. Although all living things need nitrogen to grow, the natural nitrogen cycle has become increasingly unbalanced due to the intensification of agriculture over the past hundred years. But not only our fields and meadows, also the Swiss forest suffers from this development as well Bath he wrote last May. Conversely, the loss of species also affects our climate. This carries, among other things, the current Report on the environment of the Bafu how’s that Environmental Report 2022 of the Canton of Zurich.
And since Switzerland is not alone with this problem, a few weeks ago at the 15th United Nations Conference on Endangered Species in Montréal, scientists discussed how to counter this problem. The goals seem clear: by 2030, 30 percent of the world’s areas must be declared protected areas, pesticide use must be reduced, and environmentally harmful subsidies must be reduced.
The Swiss delegation also included the biologist Eva Spehn. Opposite to Watson says: “The biodiversity crisis is at least as important as the climate crisis. They are twin crises that influence and reinforce each other.” how exactly, I already wrote about it. According to Spehn, half of the habitats in Switzerland are on the red list and a third of all observed species are endangered. And also the subsidies active in Switzerland, which damage biodiversity instead of helping it: at 40 billion francs, they would be around forty times higher than the total expenditure for the promotion of biodiversity.
The German zoologist Matthias Glaubrecht finds clear words for this attitude: “I am annoyed by the point of view of the educated, urban elite, who know a lot about Adorno and Horkheimer, but are totally alienated from nature. Humanity is particularly affected by the biodiversity crisis: for example, very few people are aware that much of the food we consume must be pollinated by insects. Without insects there are no mangoes, coffee, apples and pears». Glaubrecht warns in an interview with the NZZ but before the misunderstanding that the biodiversity crisis can be fought by fighting the climate crisis. While there are overlaps between the two issues, they should be viewed as separate crises. Incidentally, the scientist cites overpopulation as the main cause of species extinction: “If we continue as we have been, we will not be able to keep eight billion people alive.” Well, then you’d better have another grappa.
