I think humans have a sense of dominance in the world that makes us feel like the alpha species. We have taken up most of the useable land for civilization and have destroyed many ecosystems along the way. I agree that humans have led to the endangerment or extinction of many plants and animal species that were once prevalent on Earth. Just because we are the largest species on the planet doesn't give us the right to infringe on the lifestyle of other living organisms. They were here centuries before the beginning of the human race. As a society, humans need to learn how to live in equilibrium with surrounding wildlife to preserve the Earth's biodiversity. Once a species becomes extinct there is no way to bring it back. Our goal should be to prevent further animal/plant extinction because everything on Earth has a purpose.
"While industrial civilization uses the the gifts of biodiversity, it abuses the living richness of our world." (Shiva, 55)
Our world is focused on commercialization and monopolization as opposed to the wellbeing of our planet and its ecosystems. We attribute most of our success from the resources of the land; however, we rob the environment of its nutrients with no intent of replenishing it. When it comes time to relocating our water products, we turn to the land as a place for containment. Doing so pollutes the surrounding air and soil, which directly affects all living organisms. If we continue to abuse our resources the thriving biodiversity that took centuries to develop will be destroyed.
I think the quote takes on too much of a hasty generalization in terms of biodiversity and the poor. I can see how a lack of biodiversity can make some resources harder to attain, however, I don't believe it is the root cause of poverty. Healthcare is also something that only minimally ties into biodiversity because most of the drugs used in society are synthetic as opposed to natural remedies. A reduction in biodiversity can make it harder to cultivate health remediation plants, but there are plenty of alternatives that are widely accessible.
Since this text was published in the year 2000, I think that over the course of a decade our ideology on sustainability has greatly changed. The current trend in society is taking an eco-friendly approach geared towards slowly reducing our dependence on non-efficient energy sources. As a nation, we have come to the realization that our actions on this Earth have dramatically altered the environment in a negative way. New technology and higher government standards on efficiency are helping to reduce our carbon footprint. Given the circumstances, immediate change will not be observed because the Earth has endured centuries of human destruction that will take decades to overcome.
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