Biodiversity

How does this affect me?

Imagine a world with fewer bird species, fewer plants, and a handful of mammals. Imagine a world without cardinals, bluebirds, or native plants.

It is difficult for us to believe that we could have so drastic an impact on plant and animal diversity, but we are doing that now. This sort of loss could certainly be realized in our grandchildren’s lifetime.

Most of the landscapes and living species of North Carolina have developed over 500 million years. Most of the changes we have made have taken place in 50 years.
In time, the loss of genetic variation could impact our ability to produce food and medicine. Our landscapes would change not just from development but also due to changes in plant cover.

The removal of a species affects the balance in the interconnected ecosystem. Removal of these ’puzzle’ pieces could alter our highly complex world.