Dear Friend: As you may recall, last Friday, June 5, 2020, which was World Environment Day, we sent you the Species in Peril e-letter vol. 1 no. 2. Unfortunately, over the weekend the site went down due to technical error and no page was accessible. We sincerely apologize and regret that this happened shortly after the release of the e-letter. But we are pleased to share that the site is up now with all of its contents.
US Media Ignored World Environment Day but UNM Did Not!
We take this opportunity to also note that the mainstream media in the United States ignored this year’s World Environment Day. Take for example, there was no article on it in the two most influential newspapers: The New York Times and the Washington Post. Worse yet, if you do an online search on “World Environment Day New York Times”—you will see that after publishing an article in 1973 on its founding the newspaper forgot about World Environment Day for the past nearly fifty years.
The University of New Mexico (UNM) filled that void this year. All weekend the university’s main website (unm.edu) kept and is continuing to keep the announcement of the Species in Peril Biodiversity Webinar Series featuring U.S. Senator Tom Udall as honorary co-host—as a front-page story, 2020 World Environment Day: Celebrating Biodiversity.
So, despite the Species in Peril site not being accessible over the weekend for which we apologize, we urge you to take a look now—how we honored the World Environment Day with substantial content to raise awareness.
We include again the content of the original e-letter below: an announcement, and three original articles accompanied by photographs, and two drawings that were created for this e-letter.
This Species in Peril e-letter begins with an announcement. During Fall 2020, the Species in Peril project at the University of New Mexico will host a Biodiversity Webinar Series with United States Senator Tom Udall as co-host.
“We are all interconnected, and as we emerge from a global pandemic, we must address the dual nature and climate crises that threaten all of us,” said Senator Udall.
The series will include four webinars, offered monthly starting in September, focused on the following topics: a national biodiversity action plan, highlighting bills sponsored by Sen. Udall; an assessment of threatened species in New Mexico and around the world; Indigenous stewardship and the concept of multispecies justice; and transforming state wildlife management to protect biodiversity.
READ THE UNM BIODIVERSITY WEBINAR SERIES PRESS RELEASE HERE.
This Species in Peril e-letter also includes three original articles, photographs, and two drawings that were created for this e-letter.
On May 20, a super cyclone named Amphan struck the Sundarbans—the largest mangrove forest on Earth—and caused widespread ecological and social devastation in Sundarbans and across south Bangladesh and West Bengal in India.
The first article, focusing on Amphan in Sundarbans, connects tropical cyclones that are increasing in intensity and frequency due to climate breakdown—to the escalating human-caused biological annihilation. The second article addresses the peril of Sundari—the namesake tree of Sundarbans, designated as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. The third article highlights the need for assessing the biological crisis and the important work being done by three scientific assessors at the New Mexico BioPark Society focusing on native plants, freshwater fish and pollinator species of New Mexico, Mexico and Central America.
An Unknowable Tragedy
Sundarbans after Cyclone Amphan
By Subhankar Banerjee, Species in Peril, vol. 1 no. 2, June 5, 2020
Drawing by laura c. carlson, the beautifuls, 2020, mixed media on paper
READ THE ARTICLE HERE.
The Last Stand of Sundari
By Ananda Banerjee, Species in Peril, vol. 1 no. 2, June 5, 2020
Photographs by Ananda Banerjee
READ THE ARTICLE HERE.
Assessing the Biological Crisis
By Clayton Meredith, Species in Peril, vol. 1 no. 2, June 5, 2020
Drawing by laura c. carlson, Office of Species Survival, 2020, Graphite and watercolor on paper
READ THE ARTICLE HERE
Be well, be safe!
Subhankar Banerjee, editor, Species in Peril
Images: laura c carlson, the beautifuls, 2020, mixed media on paper.
laura c carlson, Office of Species Survival, 2020, mixed media on paper.