iDOT… Do you DOT?

The news media seldom give any attention whatsoever to environmental topics, but when a report came out recently with the shock revelation that global wildlife populations had HALVED in 40 years even the most sensationalist tabloid rags realised that it was a big story!
The “Living Planet Report 2014” concluded that the loss of biodiversity had reached critical levels and that this was mostly down to habitat loss driven by human consumption. For those of us who have been campaigning for years on this subject these are depressing findings but far from being a shock. The exact scale of species decline might be higher than we anticipated but we always knew it was happening.
What the publicity might do – we live in hope! – is to focus people’s minds on the serious implications for the planet as a whole, including the future of the human race – OUR future. Everything is inter-dependent. As the report’s introduction states: “Ecosystems sustain societies that create economies. It does not work the other way round. But although human beings are a product of the natural world, we have become the dominant force that shapes ecological and biophysical systems. In doing so, we are not only threatening our health, prosperity and well-being, but our very future.”
When the fact-packed 178-page report came out, the press immediately looked for an attention-grabbing and reader-friendly ‘angle’ for the story. Editors and headline writers, unsurprisingly, chose to highlight the fast-growing endangerment of ‘sexy’, high-profile wildlife favourites, such as tigers, elephants and dolphins, but the small print of the Living Planet Report reveals that recent decades have seen an even steeper decline in fish, reptile and amphibian species. Only the most serious-minded and unequivocally ‘green’ journalists wrote or broadcast about the rapid disappearance of the less cuddly creatures on the list.
Even less coverage has been given to the lowest animals in the food chain – the invertebrates. Despite being called “Living Planet”, the report completely ignores worms, woodlice and wasps, and many more besides. To their credit some conservationists have gone into battle on behalf of insects, albeit that they have tended to highlight the more popular ones: bees and butterflies. But then, I suppose, who would ‘adopt an ant’ or ‘sponsor a centipede’?!
What is really needed, though, is a fully holistic approach to the protection of wildlife – one that embraces everything from the ‘easy sell’ lions and leopards to the slimiest of slugs. Somehow we have to get the message across that it is the entire eco-system, from bottom to top, that is at risk, and each element is as vital as the next. At the pinnacle is Man – or so Man believes! – but for how much longer? At this rate, is Humankind merely the second coming of the Dinosaurs, and are we destined to meet the same fate? The biggest difference between Man and the Dinosaurs is that, if we go, we are likely to take every other species with us!
So, how to avert global disaster? As I have said before, it’s a question of education. We have to focus our efforts on persuading the next generation of human beings not to repeat the catastrophic errors of the last two generations, and, indeed, to do all in their power, to reverse the self-destructive process. We must inspire the younger generation to act very differently. How can we do that? What can we do to spark children’s interest, to engage and involve them, and ensure that it becomes a lifelong passion and not just a passing fad?
In past centuries it was thought that zoos might be the answer – and somehow in this day and age there are still a few conservationists who cling on to the belief that zoos can educate and inspire while also providing an impetus for nature conservation through captive breeding of endangered species and their gradual reintroduction into the wild. But we know that this does not work on either level. Zoos are merely a relic of bygone attitudes. They cannot stop wildlife extinctions and they manifestly do not succeed in shaping minds – they are more about titillating entertainment than actual education. How ‘entertained’ would children be if they truly realised the horror of these species’ confinement? In any case, a trip to the zoo does not stand up alongside Xbox and Instagram. Zoos surely cannot last.
Yes, in the 21st century, children are more likely to occupy themselves with online gaming or social media. The new technologies are both a problem and a potential solution. What if we could harness the world of apps and Twitter and use them for good, to promote our environmentally responsible agenda? What if we could capture a generation and turn them ‘green’? It’s not impossible! What if, through the web, we could show the true wonders of our world, the imminence of disaster, and the ‘silver lining’ – that there IS a chance to save our planet?
Through the web we can mobilise millions of people in this cause. That way an individual action becomes a potentially world-changing action! If, for instance, a million people could be persuaded to ‘Do One Thing’ for the environment every day, that’s a million positive actions in a day – and, if we could get the whole population of the UK to join in, that’s 64 million actions! (Or 23 BILLION a year!) And it needn’t be a big One Thing. It could be something as simple as picking up some litter. Or switching off a light to save energy. Or recycling a carrier bag. Or, maybe, donating one pound to a wildlife charity!
Just think what a tiny thing can achieve if, multiplied by millions of other people Doing One Thing, too, it becomes a routine. Do One Thing for the environment every day. What a difference that would make! And what a positive message that is to get out to people across Britain and across the world – that if you Do One Thing for our planet it could help save all the species of the world – including Man – from ultimate destruction! Asking one person to pick up a piece of litter is not much to ask; asking millions of people to do the same thing is similarly ‘not much to ask’ but it would achieve one hell of a lot!
So, let Do One Thing be our slogan and our mission. Very soon we are going to be launching iDOT on the Wildlife Aid Foundation website so that WAF supporters (and anyone else) can proclaim to the world that “I Do One Thing” and so that we can gather together people’s experiences and suggestions as to the most effective things that they, and we, can all be doing.
Just imagine… one simple action a day from everyone, world-wide, would create over 7 BILLION actions a day! 2,600,000,000,000 actions a year! Now, THAT will make a difference!
Come on – what are you waiting for? Let’s get that message out there! There are millions and millions of people out there waiting for this message of hope for the future.