New Mexico senator works to protect America’s lands, water
WASHINGTON, D. C. —U.S. Senator Tom Udall, D-N.M., along with the Center for Western Priorities and the Sierra Club, kicked off a “Road to 30 Virtual Tour” of states across the West May 19 to emphasize the importance of his legislation to set a national goal of protecting 30 percent of America’s lands and water by 2030, known as the 30x30 Resolution to Save Nature.
In the kick-off event, Udall joined Dr. Enric Sala, a National Geographic explorer-in-residence and one of the world’s top researchers on ecosystem recovery, and Lena Moffitt, senior director of Sierra Club’s Our Wild America Campaign, to discuss the importance of protecting biodiversity in the West’s unique habitats.
According to biologists, nature across the world is collapsing. Global human activity has altered three-quarters of the earth’s lands, and within the United States, about a football field’s worth of natural area is converted to human development every 30 seconds. Hundreds of scientists are warning the rapid loss of natural space will result in a mass extinction, exacerbated by climate change. In the face of this crisis, ecologists are urging the conservation of at least 30 percent of the planet’s lands and oceans by 2030 (30×30), a critical step that can protect nature, strengthen communities, and improve public health.
“The coronavirus pandemic is underscoring just how connected humanity is to the natural world … COVID-19 is what is known as a ‘zoonotic’ disease – transferred from animal to human,” Udall explained. “And scientists tell us that – if we continue to illegally traffic wildlife and destroy the natural barriers between humans and nature – we will face more and more of these pandemics. The fact is – protecting nature is about protecting humanity. It’s that simple.”
Udall, the ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, says there is hope.
“If we save 30 percent by 2030, we can halt the biodiversity crisis in its tracks.”
To see the Road to 30 Virtual Tour, visit: : https://youtu.be/W5TokjE5m5U
