Thirty Percent of World Destroyed

In a new report from Cambridge University’s World Conservation Monitoring Center in Britain, scientists say that humans have destroyed more than 30 percent of the natural world since 1970, with serious depletion of the forest, freshwater, and marine systems.

The report, called "The Living Planet," was prepared by the center in association with the World Wildlife Fund, Nature magazine, and the New Economics Foundation. It warns, "Time is running out for us to change the way we live, if we are to leave future generations a living planet." The report targets consumption as the primary problem, and encourages energy efficiency, reducing waste, using water sparingly and not contaminating it, and avoiding unnecessary trips in vehicles.