All over the world animal and plant species are disappearing at an alarming rate, as much as 10,000 times faster than the normal rate of extinction. This accelerating loss of biodiversity is so great that scientists are calling it the 6th Mass Extinction. Life itself is disappearing.
This current extinction crisis is entirely caused by human behaviors linked to habitat loss, invasive species, climate change, pollution, over-exploitation of resources, and human overpopulation. We are already experiencing the effects of this crisis, including extreme weather, flooding, drought and wildfires.
As more and more species become extinct, whole ecosystems face irreversible collapse. The stability of the biosphere, the web of life itself, is in danger. This is unparalleled in human experience, with profound consequences for all life on Earth.
A mass extinction of species threatens the very resources we need to survive, including food, water, air, shelter, and medicine. Our food supply is threatened due to loss of pollinators, and increasing drought and flooding threaten farming and soil fertility. Wild species such as fish are also declining. Our water supply is at risk due to pollution, drought, forest die off, and collapse of wetlands that filter and purify water.
The quality of our air is threatened by pollution from burning of fossil fuels, carbon dioxide and methane emissions, wildfires, and deforestation. Loss of trees, which regulate atmospheric carbon dioxide, has led to extreme weather events.
Species diversity is critical to a healthy, livable planet. It provides plants used our medicines, minerals and other resources used to build our homes and structures. Loss of species not only threatens the stability of life, it threatens the incredible beauty and diversity of the natural world. Living in such a diminished world would not only diminish our quality of life, but the quality of the lives of our children and generations to come.
In spite of these catastrophic predictions, there is cause for optimism. However, that optimism depends on whether or not we take action. Specifically, because the drivers of the mass extension crisis are caused by human behaviors, we need to act to change these behaviors.
Changing our behavior is critical to insuring the future of our planet, the future of our species, and all species. This will require a fundamental change in our culture, our minds, and our hearts. Those of us alive on today have been given a great opportunity: one last chance to preserve the vitality and magnificence of Earth, the living planet that brought us into being and is our only home.
Call of Life Facing the Mass Extinction is an award-winning documentary, developed by the Species Alliance, used to educate people all over the world. It is the first feature film to examine the drivers of the current mass extinction crisis, the human behaviors causing them, and the imminent threats to Earth’s life support systems due to the unprecedented loss of biodiversity.
Through interviews with leading scientists, anthropologists, psychologists, philosophers, as well as indigenous and religious leaders, the film explores the caused, scope and effects of the mass extinction. Uniquely, the film looks at how our cultural and economic systems, along with deep-seated psychological and behavioral patterns, have allowed this crisis to develop, continues to reinforce it, and even determines our response to it.
The film tells the story of a crisis not only in nature, but also in human nature.