Congressional Member’s Report Card

Congressional Member’s Report Card

Our Environment’s Reality?

Species Extinction's Globally

BIODIVERSITY IN ECOSYSTEMS

  • Greater biodiversity in ecosystems, species, and individuals leads to greater stability. For example, species with high genetic diversity and many populations that are adapted to a wide variety of conditions are more likely to be able to weather disturbances, disease, and climate change.
  • Greater biodiversity also enriches us with more varieties of foods and medicines. Current estimates of global species diversity vary between 2 million and 100 million species, with a popular estimate of somewhere near 13 to 14 million. The majority of them are arthropods. But very little is known about most species.
  • Only roughly 1.5 million species have been described, and only 40,000 to 50,000 species have had their conservation status assessed. Roughly a third of these are believed to be at some risk of extinction.

BIODIVERSITY CREATES ECOLOGICAL BALANCE

BIODIVERSITY ENRICHES US WITH MORE FOODS AND MEDICINES