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246 <figcaption><span style="white-space:pre-wrap">Photo by </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/@davidclode?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText"><span style="white-space:pre-wrap">David Clode</span></a><span style="white-space:pre-wrap"> on </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/rare-birds?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText"><span style="white-space:pre-wrap">Unsplash</span></a></figcaption> 247 </figure> 248 249 </header> 250 251 <section class="gh-content gh-canvas"> 252 <p>There is growing data on the decline of species- which tends to have a cascading effect, as one species declines it creates pressure on other species who depend on that declining (or extinct) species for their survival. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/emanuelabarbiroglio/2021/02/04/growth-is-real-only-when-shared-with-biodiversity-says-the-new-dasgupta-review/?sh=bb7c301405e9&ref=datapointsblog.com">Forbes reports</a> today on a new report that explicitly links biodiversity and economics, noting that people tend to compartmentalize business concerns around GDP during the week - and put off thinking about biodiversity "for Sundays".</p><blockquote>The average abundance of native species in most major land-based habitats has fallen by at least 20%, mostly since 1900. More than 40% of amphibian species, almost 33% of reef-forming corals and more than a third of all marine mammals are threatened. The picture is less clear for insect species, but available evidence supports a tentative estimate of 10% being threatened. At least 680 vertebrate species had been driven to extinction since the 16th century and more than 9% of all domesticated breeds of mammals used for food and agriculture had become extinct by 2016, with at least 1,000 more breeds still threatened.UN Report: <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline-unprecedented-report/?ref=datapointsblog.com">Natureâs Dangerous Decline âUnprecedentedâ</a> (May 6, 2019)</blockquote><p>As <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/117/24/13596.short?ref=datapointsblog.com">a recent research article</a> from the <a href="https://www.pnas.org/?ref=datapointsblog.com">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a> notes, "Thousands of populations of critically endangered vertebrate animal species have been lost in a century, indicating that the sixth mass extinction is human caused and accelerating." They looked at 29,400 species of terrestrial vertebrates and found that 1.7% (about 515 species) were close to extinction. Species labeled as close to extinction had to have less than 1,000 living members.</p><p>The Forbes article reported today about a report commissioned by the UK about biodiversity and economics by the University of Cambridge's Professor emeritus <a href="http://www.econ.cam.ac.uk/people/emeritus/pd10000?ref=datapointsblog.com">Partha Dasgupta</a>:</p><blockquote>In a quite revolutionary way, Dasgupta asserts that âthe contemporary practice of using Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to judge economic performance is based on a faulty application of economicsâ and suggests that âGDP growth is, in principle, compatible with sustainable developmentâ. Emanuela Barbiroglio, "<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/emanuelabarbiroglio/2021/02/04/growth-is-real-only-when-shared-with-biodiversity-says-the-new-dasgupta-review/?ref=datapointsblog.com">Growth Is Only Real When Shared With Biodiversity, Says The New Dasgupta Review</a>", Forbes.com February 4, 2021</blockquote><p>As Gupta notes, "we are all asset managers [...for...] a class of assets called Nature". These issues will likely be on the table for discussion at the upcoming <a href="https://ukcop26.org/?ref=datapointsblog.com">COP26 conference</a> in November 2021.</p> 253 </section> 254 255 256</article> 257</main> 258 259 <section class="footer-cta outer"> 260 <div class="inner"> 261 <h2 class="footer-cta-title">Sign up for more like this.</h2> 262 <a class="footer-cta-button" href="#/portal" data-portal> 263 <div class="footer-cta-input">Enter your email</div>
264 <span>Subscribe</span> 265 </a> 266 </div> 267 </section> 268 269 270 271 <aside class="read-more-wrap outer"> 272 <div class="read-more inner"> 273 274<article class="post-card post no-image"> 275 276 277 <div class="post-card-content"> 278 279 <a class="post-card-content-link" href="/how-many-container-ships-are-there-in-the-world/"> 280 <header class="post-card-header"> 281 <div class="post-card-tags"> 282 </div> 283 <h2 class="post-card-title"> 284 How many container ships are there in the world? 285 </h2> 286 </header> 287 <div class="post-card-excerpt">Shipping containers are measured in "twenty-foot equivalent units", with the capacity of ships and warehouses given in TEU. As of ~2018 the largest containers ships can hold about 22,000 TEUs- and globally there are 5,222 ships as of April 2018 that can carry a total</div> 288 </a> 289 290 <footer class="post-card-meta"> 291 <time class="post-card-meta-date" datetime="2021-02-02">02 Feb 2021</time> 292 <span class="post-card-meta-length">1 min read</span> 293 </footer> 294 295 </div> 296 297</article> 298 299<article class="post-card post no-image"> 300 301 302 <div class="post-card-content"> 303 304 <a class="post-card-content-link" href="/the-cost-of-leaky-petroleum-storage-tanks/"> 305 <header class="post-card-header"> 306 <div class="post-card-tags"> 307 </div> 308 <h2 class="post-card-title"> 309 The cost of leaky petroleum storage tanks 310 </h2> 311 </header> 312 <div class="post-card-excerpt">One of the most common sources of groundwater contamination is leaking underground storage tanks (UST) like those used by convenience stores and gas stations. From the AEA blog: 313 314About 60 percent of all underground storage tanks (USTs) have experienced at least one leak and that remediation of the approximately 528,</div> 315 </a> 316 317 <footer class="post-card-meta"> 318 <time class="post-card-meta-date" datetime="2021-02-01">01 Feb 2021</time> 319 <span class="post-card-meta-length">1 min read</span> 320 </footer> 321 322 </div> 323 324</article> 325 326<article class="post-card post"> 327 328 <a class="post-card-image-link" href="/the-average-annual-per-capita-consumption-of-tea-is-0-9kg-globally/"> 329 330 <img class="post-card-image" 331 srcset="/content/images/size/w300/2026/01/manki-kim-L82-kkEBOd0-unsplash-2048x1365.jpg 300w, 332 /content/images/size/w600/2026/01/manki-kim-L82-kkEBOd0-unsplash-2048x1365.jpg 600w, 333 /content/images/size/w1000/2026/01/manki-kim-L82-kkEBOd0-unsplash-2048x1365.jpg 1000w, 334 /content/images/size/w2000/2026/01/manki-kim-L82-kkEBOd0-unsplash-2048x1365.jpg 2000w" 335 sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 400px, 800px" 336 src="/content/images/size/w600/2026/01/manki-kim-L82-kkEBOd0-unsplash-2048x1365.jpg" 337 alt="tea set with glass mug of tea next to a teapot" 338 loading="lazy" 339 /> 340 341 342 </a> 343 344 <div class="post-card-content"> 345 346 <a class="post-card-content-link" href="/the-average-annual-per-capita-consumption-of-tea-is-0-9kg-globally/"> 347 <header class="post-card-header"> 348 <div class="post-card-tags"> 349 </div> 350 <h2 class="post-card-title"> 351 The average annual per capita consumption of tea is 0.9kg globally 352 </h2> 353 </header> 354 <div class="post-card-excerpt">The global average per capita consumption of tea will weigh in at 0.9 kg in 2021. Also, the average price per kilogram in the tea segment is expected to amount to US$35.06 in 2021. In the United States, consumer demand for tea has grown 18.7% year</div> 355 </a> 356 357 <footer class="post-card-meta"> 358 <time class="post-card-meta-date" datetime="2021-01-31">31 Jan 2021</time> 359 </footer> 360 361 </div> 362 363</article> 364 </div> 365 </aside> 366 367 368 369 </div> 370 371 <footer class="site-footer outer"> 372 <div class="inner"> 373 <section class="copyright"><a href="https://datapointsblog.com">Datapoints Blog</a> © 2026</section> 374 <div class="site-footer-center"> 375 <div class="site-footer-social-links"> 376 <a href="https://x.com/ghost" target="_blank" rel="noopener" aria-label="X">
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