Is the earth on the verge of a giant resert button? As reported here, scientists say we are entering a new geologic epoch marked by major changes to global temperatures and ocean chemistry. We can expect increased sediment erosion, and changes in biology that range from altered flowering times to shifts in migration patterns of birds and mammals. Tiny organisms that support the entire marine food chain are likely to die off.
This will be the new environmental challenge for business. McKinsey reports that this will have a massive impact on food and beverage, pharmaceutical, and energy companies, as well as hospitals.
McKinsey reports: "Water scarcity, infectious disease, and food security top the list of potential risks to both biodiversity and business. The food and beverage industry relies on water for agricultural production and is reasonably concerned with future access to food; pharmaceutical companies and hospitals have a vested stake in the development of treatments for infectious diseases; and for energy companies, the production process involves water use as well as a host of other biodiversity issues, such as soil degradation, deforestation, and flooding. These respondents are more than twice as likely as others to say biodiversity is important to strengthen their companies' competitive position, with 61 percent saying so; a quarter say their companies will face the risk of losing a crucial input to their products if biodiversity is reduced."
Watch this space. Add biodiversity to other critical game changing issues like land and water degradation, food security, peak oil and population. The 2010s now create the critical decade of action.
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