Today (click here) is Endangered Species Day, which is hardly cause for celebration, as ideally no such occasion would exist. This is not an ideal world, however. That was clear earlier this month when the UN’s biodiversity and ecosystem arm IPBES reported that one million species worldwide are threatened with extinction.
Yet conservationist Rob Shumaker—author, orangutan expert, and president of the Indianapolis Zoo, which biennially awards the Indianapolis prize, the most prestigious global award in conservation—is optimistic. “You have a lot of power. You can save endangered species,” he urges enthusiastically over the phone, explaining what he wants everyone to take away from the UN’s report. “The government has to look at broader policy issues…but that isn’t permission for individuals to give up. Individuals can have a massive impact.”...
