National Geographic, in conjunction with Ipsos, polled 12,000 adults in 12 countries around the world to understand how people in these places value nature and biodiversity.
- The poll, which will be released with the magazine’s October issue titled “Vanishing,” revealed overwhelming support for species conservation but also a lack of understanding of the topic.
- The poll surveyed 12,000 adults in 12 countries.
- A majority of respondents weren’t sure how much vertebrate populations have changed since 1970.
- Respondents were also shocked to learn that a quarter of the world’s mammals could soon go the way of the dodo.
- Even with such knowledge gaps, however, one crucial takeaway from the poll is that regardless of political or cultural backgrounds very few people think extinction is acceptable.
- Many scientists project that we are on the brink of a modern-day mass extinction, the last of which occurred some 66 million years ago, wiping out the dinosaur population in part by asteroid impact.
- Dozens of species go extinct every day and scientists predict that more than 20,000 plants and animals are on the verge of disappearing forever.
- The October issue highlights species that are among the world’s most vulnerable, at risk of vanishing within our lifetimes.
- The upcoming issue, which seeks to fill the gap in education about the extinction crisis around the world, is available online now at natgeo.com/vanishing.
- To give readers an opportunity to help, National Geographic Society is asking for consumers to take the #SaveTogether pledge at NatGeo.org/SaveTogether.
- For each pledge made, National Geographic Society will donate $5 to fund more exploration, research, and conservation.