This is something I can't begin to comprehend.
When I was a young kid, I understood what Extinction was, Endangerment was, and the IUCN red list believe or not (but I always forgot Near threatened for some reason). I had these animal cards you see.
They were mostly mammals, and had information about these animals on the back of the card, A symbol for what habitat they lived in, and a little red symbol if the animal on the card was Endangered at all. I would sort these animal cards at like 7-8 years old based on there type of habitat, there range, and
if they were endangered or not.
I knew what extinction was; believe me.
Thylacines. Stellers sea cows. And golden toads. All animals I knew about when I was younger that were somewhat recently extinct.
Now, Sumatran rhinos, and the Related black and Javan rhinos, those had a place in my heart. I still have the animal cards for those 3 believe it or not.
And I remember seeing the little red "endangered!" symbol, and as I mentioned earlier, I would sort the ones that were endangered into my "focus" species list, which were endangered animals that I had sorted that I thought about and did School assignments on up until 4th grade actually.
I also knew, extinction could happen to these creatures. To any creature. I was more religious then I was back then I prayed that these animals would not become the EX: symbol that was used on some of the animal cards that I had owned. I had always known these were threatened species, but the fact that they didn't become EX yet, I was optimistic.
I still am, but it was around 2019 when I had learned of the Bramble Cay melomys.
I mean you could read it on the internet, right there, that this animal went extinct,
when I was alive.
My mind had raced back to these memories of Luke with the animal cards, doing his sorting thing. And it was real to me for once.
Extinction was officially real.
Because I had been alive and aware then an animal had gone extinct, It
felt real to me, if you understand what I'm saying.
To 2020. Covid is a thing across the globe, and there was the Chinese Paddlefish.
EX
No one seemed to care, and I actually recall a time in 2020 or early 2021, when I was having a good chat with a sadly left member, O.C. He mentioned it to me, and my reaction was something like:
Oh.
It was real to me again.
Now it's real
Again.
I am fed up. I am fed up with the government listing climate change and animal conservation as like a 7th or 8th priority in the U.S.
As a young person myself, I wish people would listen.
Hey, at least as an upside, old politicians will be dead before the worst of climate change happens.
Cheese Chameleon.
