It is increasingly evident that the global environment will not stand up to the earth's population living in the manner of current middle class and upper class Americans. It is also evident that without hard scientific evidence or some large environmental disaster public opinion is too apathetic to insist that policies be changed.
Some citizen groups do much to promote issues and clean their local environments.
However, without insistence from those who have the means and the creation of some system to provide means to those who don't have them we will get nowhere near a solution until many species and ecosystems are lost. Everyone has their own pet problems and political issues that they like to support and agonize over. This is an introduction to a few of the problems facing conservationists today. One of the most uncomfortable questions for those of us who see conservation as a necessity is the question of why, other than intrinsic value or beauty, we need a particular protected place or spices. The importance of Biodiversity.