Posthuman Blues

Wilderness in a Warming World

The most serious threat to biodiversity posed by climate change, the study's authors point out, is that biological "hotspots" -- critical ecosystems like certain rainforests and coral reefs -- which cover only 1% of the Earth's surface but hold 44% of its biodiversity, are being transformed so rapidly that even if they are preserved from habitat destruction, they may not be able to provide a home for the plants and animals who live there now.

But the implications here extend to any piece of ground or water we care about. We are now re-engineering the entire planet, though we're doing it blindly and carelessly. If we're serious about preserving the diversity of life on Earth, we need to make climate foresight central to essentially all conservation biology efforts.