Eric Dinerstein is a conservation biologist and heads up a team that’s put together a roadmap and a literal map for saving Earth and its species from global warming called “The Global Safety Net.”
Climate change is a crisis facing the planet, but one team has put together an idea that could help curb the effects it has on the world, and in turn, save us from catastrophe. Eric Dinerstein is a conservation biologist and heads up a team that’s put together a roadmap and a literal map, for saving Earth and its species from global warming, called the “Global Safety Net.”
Dinerstein describes the safety net as a map. “A map that basically says, ‘Here are the places that we need to set aside for conservation,’” he told Inside Edition Digital. “We have the power to envision a world that is much better than what we have now.”
“The global safety net is like a big net. Imagine you're at a circus performance, or a performance of acrobats, that are using a high flying trapeze. They always have a safety net down below, because sometimes they could slip and fall, and the net catches them. What we're trying to do is to create a net that catches us, as a species, for all the species on earth, for our atmosphere, for having what we call a living biosphere,” he explained.
The safety net calls for habitats to be connected and to separate humans from other species, as he explains “if we don't save species, we won't save the habitats. They're interdependent.”
“So what we're suggesting for the biodiversity side, is to agree to set aside roughly half of the planet, for conservation. And we live on the other half. And by setting aside that half for conservation, we not only solve the problem of climate change, but we also provide enough land for the other species to live as well, with us, to coexist. And we also prevent the possibility of future pandemics from occurring,” he added.
Achieving the Global Safety Net may sound like a monumental task, but it’s not as tough one would expect. Dinerstein explained that 15% of nature is protected by governments around the world. He said it is also affordable, saying that his team has done an estimate that would cost $500,000,000 a year to erect and maintain this safety net.
“Now, think of how much we're spending to combat the pandemic, right now. It's way past that,” he argued.
Dinerstein remains hopeful that this will happen.
“The good news is, if we erect the safety net now, and make sure that it's sturdy and it's well anchored, we can save life on earth. And we can have a stable climate, for future generations," he said. "So that's why we've done this now, because we don't have much time to waste. We have spent too long arguing about this, or denying it, and now the reality is here. And we have about 10 years to put ourselves on the right path, to be able to make the safety net effective. If we wait 20 years, it will be too late."
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