As many as 1 million of the estimated 8 million plant and animal species on Earth are at risk of extinction — many of them within decades — according to the scientists and researchers behind a new UN report. The assessment by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services is the most comprehensive review to date of the damage humans are causing to biodiversity. The group’s chair, Robert Watson, says:
The health of ecosystems on which we and all other species depend is deteriorating more rapidly than ever. We are eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide.
CNN‘s royal correspondent (5/6/19) covers the British queen’s granddaughter-in-law going into labor.
Nevertheless, a survey by German newspaper Deutsche Welle (5/22/19) found that the report and its grave implications didn’t get the front-page stories you might expect for news of this import, and they suggest, sadly, that that has to do with the fact that the assessment was released on the same day that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had their first child. Their findings match those of US group Media Matters (5/21/19), which noted that ABC News, for one, gave more time to the royal baby’s birth in the week he was born than to all stories about the climate crisis in all of 2018.
The UN report calls on policymakers to take immediate concrete action to protect nature—sustainable agricultural practices, equitable water management, renewable energy sources and more. It’s beyond shameful that among the obstacles such crucial efforts face, corporate media’s disinterest looms large.
You could call it “infantile”
But that would be far too kind, wouldn’t it?
Lets be sure the mainstream media was focused on whipping up hysteria for measles which boosted the sales of Merck’s MMR vaccine. Not one word about the deplorable state of a generation of sick children with 54% now with a chronic disease; 1988 it was 12%. No mention of the 13- 24% of children in special education who cannot think, speak, spell, calculate impaired with a plethora of learning disabilities including 1 in 28 with autism. It is the species of healthy children who are growing extinct. The band plays on and MSM wants to keep us focused on bogeyman Russia and measles.
Agreed. And the 200,000 homeless kids here in California, yawn…but what about the sex-life of that celebrity chef, now that’s news!
Thank you! I’m re-joining FAIR just because of this article. I gave up when FAIR itself lost focus on climate and extinction news.
That one word on television or radio or one line in newspapers talks about the royal family is too much! Can’t stomach that bunch of royal… bums, living off the rest of us…! How about a new “prise de la Bastille”?
What used to be the news has become “infotainment.”
Are you all dense or what? This is a surprise to you?
“… corporate media’s disinterest looms large.” When you wrote that, I believe that you were laying blame on the wrong culprit. It’s not simply corporate media that is disinterested; it’s the viewing public–here and abroad–who would rather watch the lifestyles of royals, movie stars, and obnoxious politicians than bear witness to the downside of irresponsible consumerism. Corporate media simply gives their audience what their audience wants. After all, corporate media was not invented to tell the truth or to alert us to calamities or injustice. Rather, it was invented to keep the revenue coming in. When the viewing public wants to view something else, you can be damn sure that corporate media will change accordingly, in order to keep the revenue coming in.
Yes, LC, I agree that TOO often the general public in the US seeks-out ‘comfortable’ infotainment and the media caters to that. As Noam Chomsky has noted, people aren’t incapable of intellectually understanding the true dynamics of politics as it pertains to them —- many sports-fans can discuss very intricate sports situations and relationships, for instance. It’s just that they’re too often uninterested until it very-directly affects themselves, and by then it’s often late in the game (as many draftees in the Vietnam war found-out, for instance).
That being said, it’s also true that media organizations — being corporations, where PROFIT is the ultimate, underlying raison d’être and they will literally cease-to-exist without it — have an inherent bias towards the pro-profit culture… how could you expect them NOT to? Subsequently, they employ mostly like-minded employees, so their ‘lens’ (or ‘filter’, as the late Ed Herman so correctly called it) is a default pro-capitalism/pro-profits one, (FAIR has an excellent synopsis of this on this website in the ‘ABOUT’ section) so it’s a reinforcing loop and…. here we are… a largely disinterested & distracted populace and media institutions profiting from pandering to that sel-indulgence.
It seems All the Leaders in Power, only care about their Powrr im Elections & their Own welfare!
They’ve All ignored the general populations concerns and have known about Climate Crisis since 1980’s! But have done Nothing to act on it, but line their Own pockets, again and again! With broken promises to the masses & palming us a off with lies & palming our rubbish off to extremely vulnerable countries. While streaming media bullshit to the masses, our natural earth and species are being wiped out!
I struggle so much with the Apathy of our nation particularly!
The Rich – Poor Divide is so damn prevalent now ; Their Taming solution, so the masses are kept in their place without questioning ?!
1984……..!!
Cant believe it takes a 16 year old, Greta & Sir David, An oap… to get some people to take notice!
Sorry for the rant from
One angry upset mum