Pollution, habitat loss and climate change all threaten wildlife and their ecosystems. Conservationists discuss what we can do to help.

Wildlife numbers are plunging worldwide. From toxic waste to invasive species, deforestation to rising temperatures, threats to the survival of our planet’s millions of plants and animals are causing scientists to warn of a sixth extinction.

It’s estimated that roughly a third of the world’s species have become endangered or gone extinct in the past 500 years. And as the climate crisis continues to escalate, many more will be forced to adapt.

For this episode of the Crosscut Talks podcast, environmental journalist Michelle Nijuis, Conservation Northwest senior policy director Paula Sweeden and National Wildlife Federation chief scientist Dr. Bruce Stein unpack the reasons we’re facing such a crisis and what we can do to mitigate it.

The panelists’ proposed solutions range from federal legislation to backyard gardens—and ultimately make the case that the biodiversity crisis is inextricable from the climate crisis.

This conversation was recorded May 4, 2023.

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Credits

Host: Paris Jackson

Producer: Seth Halleran

Event producers: Jake Newman, Anne O'Dowd

Engineers: Resti Bagcal, Viktoria Ralph

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