As a college student during this pandemic, I, like many of my peers, have had the “best years of my life” uprooted and my future put on hold while decision-makers determine when we can resume some sort of normalcy.
As a young person born into a climate and extinction crisis, I am unable to ignore drastic global biodiversity loss leading to this never-ending pandemic, during which so many have suffered.
An estimated 70% of emerging diseases are zoonotic, meaning that they are a product of increased interactions between humans and wildlife – a direct impact of biodiversity loss.
Immediate and expansive action to protect biodiversity is necessary to ensure the health of global ecosystems, and to protect the health of Alabamians and others around the world.
Biodiversity not only influences the health of Alabamians by regulating infectious diseases, but it is also critical to the healthy ecosystems upon which we all rely for clean water, fertile soil, the foods we eat and the very air we breathe.
As we lose species, ecosystems are at risk of collapse. Immediate action is necessary to prevent diseases like the current pandemic in the future and to ensure the health of Alabama’s citizens.
The Build Back Better Act is the most robust bill to address the climate and ecological crises – we need a fully funded $3.5 trillion bill to take urgent, meaningful action. Build Back Better includes repealing the drilling program in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, increasing funding for the U.S.
The Fish and Wildlife Service is to implement the Endangered Species Act, our nation’s most effective tool for preventing extinction, increasing funding for wildlife corridors, implementing a Civilian Climate Corps and securing funding for the protection and recovery of the more than 480 at-risk species in the National Forest System.
Alabama is the most biodiverse state east of the Mississippi River, which is why I am dedicated to protecting this biodiversity through grassroots advocacy with a community of conservation-minded students through Defenders of Wildlife.
We are currently working together to urge legislators to pass the $3.5 trillion Build Back Better Act so we can stand up for communities and the future of our planet.
Please join us by texting “ACTIVIST” to 52886 or emailing me directly at aef0046@auburn.edu.
Allison Foster is a senior in wildlife ecology and management.
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