It is estimated that one-third of all reef-building corals, a third of all fresh-water mollusks, a third of sharks and rays, a quarter of all mammals, a fifth of all reptiles, and a sixth of all birds are headed toward oblivion. The losses are occurring all over: in the South Pacific and in the North Atlantic, in the Arctic and the Sahel, in lakes and on islands, on mountaintops and in valleys.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the alarming decline of various species across different ecosystems due to environmental threats.
Elizabeth Kolbert's quote serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing biodiversity crisis affecting countless species around the globe. By illustrating the specific percentages of various groups headed toward extinction, she emphasizes the urgency of addressing environmental degradation and conservation efforts to preserve our planet's wildlife and ecosystems.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of environmental conservation.
Nature is not always tricked in holiday attire, but the same scene which yesterday breathed perfume and glittered as for the frolic of the nymphs, is overspread with melancholy today. Nature always wears the colors of the spirit.
Now the swinging bridge Is quieted with creepers ... Like our tendrilled life.
The feel of a canoe gunnel at the thigh, the splash of flying spray in the face, the rhythm of the snowshoe trail, the beckoning of far-off hills and valleys, the majesty of the tempest, the calm and silent presence of the trees that seem to muse and ponder in their silence; the trust and confidence of small living creatures, the company of simple men; these have been my inspiration and my guide. Without them I am nothing.
I love to smell flowers in the dark," she said. "You get hold of their soul then.
The eye is the first circle; the horizon which it forms is the second; and throughout nature this primary figure is repeated without end.
The forests of America, however slighted by man, must have been a great delight to God; for they were the best he ever planted. The whole continent was a garden, and from the beginning, it seemed to be favored above all the other wild parks and gardens of the globe.
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