Thread by @EuanRitchie1

It's #WorldEnvironmentDay2021. The time for tokenistic days & further platitudes is well & truly over.
Bad news: We are living in an environmental & extinction crisis.
Good news: We *can* fix it, but it requires accountability from governments right down to individuals. Thread.

So why are we in this terrible mess, nature.com/articles/s4155…, and most importantly, what can we do about it? Well, @DonADriscoll has put together a very handy explainer

What choices and changes can I make as an individual that will help to better care for nature? Well, @M_Selinske et al. have great suggestions here: conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.111… This work is focussed on the Australian state of Victoria, but it has very broad relevance and application.

Do you need more ideas and maybe some motivation from others to make changes and stay on track?

We've got you covered at ipromisetoact.net @IPromiseToAct

@SciEms @GeorgiaGarrard @scidocmartin @M_Selinske @RTW_Aus @AlexKusmanoff

This is all rather heavy. Need a short interlude? Why not learn about how cool Australia's mammals are!
#WorldEnvironmentDay #WorldEnvironmentDay2021

Ok, now let's talk about $. You'll often hear some say it's the economy & jobs vs. the environment & conservation, or it'll cost too much $ to save species and ecosystems. These statements are untrue. Healthy environments & conservation *create* jobs, $ & sustain our economy.

Great discussion about this here theconversation.com/taking-care-of… @megcevans #WorldEnvironmentDay #WorldEnvironmentDay2021

And here gov.uk/government/pub… #WorldEnvironmentDay #WorldEnvironmentDay2021

And here theconversation.com/about-500-000-… #WorldEnvironmentDay #WorldEnvironmentDay2021

Ok, so in Australia, what laws and strategies do we have for protecting species? Glad you asked. Firstly, the main law is the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, and it's fair to say it's falling its stated purpose theconversation.com/a-major-report…

We also have a new Threatened Species Strategy theconversation.com/australias-thr… It includes some welcome ambitions, but again it's well short of what's urgently needed #WorldEnvironmentDay #WorldEnvironmentDay2021

More on this in this episode of The Conversation Hour abc.net.au/radio/melbourn… #WorldEnvironmentDay #WorldEnvironmentDay2021

Ok, let's talk about cities for a second. They're biodiversity wastelands, right? Wrong! They are full of wildlife, and in some cases threatened species. Learn more about this here: theconversation.com/the-39-endange… @kyliesoanes @pelentini

#WorldEnvironmentDay #WorldEnvironmentDay2021

And that includes bandicutes! theconversation.com/rockin-the-sub… @SarahMac765
#WorldEnvironmentDay #WorldEnvironmentDay2021

So, if we reimagine how our cities could be, there could be huge gains for nature and people. Let's do it! theconversation.com/heres-how-to-d… @GeorgiaGarrard @sbekessy
#WorldEnvironmentDay #WorldEnvironmentDay2021

Ok, so how bad are things, really? They're bad, very bad. For instance, ecosystems that span the tropics and all the way to Antarctica, are all showing signs of collapsing theconversation.com/existential-th… @DanaMBergstrom

#WorldEnvironmentDay #WorldEnvironmentDay2021

Do we give up? Hell no! We can stop things from getting worse and begin the process of recovery. But how? Introducing the 3As! Awareness. Anticipation. Action. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gc… Here's an example for Australia's arid zone.
#WorldEnvironmentDay #WorldEnvironmentDay2021

Now let's talk about 'wilderness'. There's a notion from some that wilderness = few to no people. This notion is false & very disrespectful to Indigenous People who have shaped & cared for environments, for millennia. People are a part of nature and environmental solutions.

Here's a stunning example abc.net.au/news/2021-05-1… @BB_Collins
#WorldEnvironmentDay #WorldEnvironmentDay2021

And a great read here nature.com/articles/s4155… @parnajarlpa & @BiodiversityGuy
#WorldEnvironmentDay #WorldEnvironmentDay2021

Now I want to switch topics and discuss a deeply concerning issue impeding our ability to address arguably society's greatest challenge, environmental destruction, demise & extinction. Scientists are being actively silenced theconversation.com/research-revea… This is an affront to democracy.

Here's a recent example theguardian.com/environment/20… @_LisaMCox #WorldEnvironmentDay #WorldEnvironmentDay2021

It's not cool to stop scientists from doing their jobs. It can lead to very bad outcomes. Ecologists & conservation scientists are already doing it very tough natureindex.com/news-blog/more… @gvconroy We need *more* support, not more pressure #WorldEnvironmentDay #WorldEnvironmentDay2021

And just quickly, for anyone who thinks scientists can't have values and advocate based on their expertise and evidence, this is not true. It's how it's done that matters conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.11… @GeorgiaGarrard @fidlerfm @BondieWints @YungEnChee1 @sbekessy #WorldEnvironmentDay

More great advice here too! esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/fe… @ZachPeeryConBio et al. #WorldEnvironmentDay #WorldEnvironmentDay2021

So let's start wrapping this up. It's important to be honest & it's certainly ok & very reasonable to be angry & sad about what's happening to our environment & the remarkable species we share Earth with. #WorldEnvironmentDay2021 #WorldEnvironmentDay

But, we can't be paralysed into inaction by fear, nor give up. Many good things are being done by wonderful people. We're having wins! How good is #citizenscience?! theconversation.com/the-rise-of-ci… @scidocmartin @waterpenny10 @SarahMac765
#WorldEnvironmentDay2021 #WorldEnvironmentDay

No, I mean, how good is #CitizenScience?! @CitSciOZ

theconversation.com/citizen-scienc… @ayeshatulloch @AarontheEcolog @desert_ecology @all_isee

theconversation.com/our-turtle-pro… @Prof_TurtleAU @claudia_santori

#WorldEnvironmentDay2021 #WorldEnvironmentDay

And how good are #RightWayScience and Indigenous Ranger programs?! theconversation.com/indigenous-ran… @EmilieEns @AlanaMGrech Too Deadly!

#WorldEnvironmentDay2021 #WorldEnvironmentDay

There are so many stories of hope publish.csiro.au/book/7705/
#WorldEnvironmentDay2021 #WorldEnvironmentDay

And a huge shout out to all the amazing champions for the environment and conservation! Simply too many to list, but you're all awesome!
#WorldEnvironmentDay2021 #WorldEnvironmentDay

Never, ever, give up, we can turn things around #WorldEnvironmentDay2021 #WorldEnvironmentDay