Big Think

Has Jurassic Park fostered misunderstanding about extinction?

Image source: Universal / Getty Images

Jurassic Park has fueled public misconceptions about science's abilities to bring extinct species back to life.
De-extinction technology can resurrect genetic material from extinct species into their living relatives in a way that can assist conservation efforts.
Fostering empathy for other-than-human lives through stories might be the key to addressing the current ecological catastrophe.

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Image source: Axel Rouvin via Flickr

At the Climate Action Summit in New York on Sunday, Norway announced plans to pay the Gabon $150 million over 10 years to combat deforestation and cut emissions.
Rainforests cover some 88 percent of Gabon, but in recent years illegal logging has ravaged much of the country.
The deal is part of the United Nations' Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI), which helps six African nations to develop conservation plans.

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Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The Amazon fires were captured by the AIRS camera on the Aqua satellite.
A movie clip released by NASA shows a huge cloud of CO drifting across the continent.
Fortunately, carbon monoxide at this altitude has little effect on air quality.

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According to historian Jared Diamond, we currently have four global crises to address: the ongoing threat of nuclear attacks, climate change, running out of resources, and socioeconomic inequality.
Diamond believes there's hope for the future, though, because these problems are human caused, and must have human solutions — they are not looming doomsdays like an asteroid poised to strike Earth (of which we are currently largely helpless to address).
If we don't aim to solve these issues within the next 30 years, then we — and our children — may end up living in a "miserable world not worth living [in]."

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Image source: Ondrej Prosicky/Shutterstock

Elephants help keep the central African forests they live in healthy.
Without elephants, the forests see a striking reduction in their carbon dioxide-storage capacity.
Study calls elephants "natural forest managers."

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