Page 2 - Boca ViewPointe - August '24

Page 2, Viewpointe August 2024
The Planet’s Board Of Directors

Challenges Are June 2024 – May 2025 Officers/Executive Committee

Escalating Chairman and President Robert Cornell District 5 Barbara Windheim (El Dorado)
Esplanada, Caravelle, Palomar, La Corniche,

Vice Chairman
Bob Greenstein
Vice President
and El Dorado
Secretary David Sussman District 6 Marvin Lazarowitz (Villa del Sol)
Steve Retzer
By Steve Handwerker Treasurer Lawrence Gelfond Villa Flora, Montego Bay, Villa del Sol, and Palladium
District 7 David Arlein (Pointe 100)
What regions are critical District Directors The Plum/Cortina, Villa Sonrisa and Pointe 100
for our survival as a species? District 1 Morton Karper (Valencia) District 8 Jacob Stark (Costa del Sol)
From Borneo to the Andes and Encantada, Valencia and The Palms Costa del Sol and Costa Brava
north to south pole, the earth’s District 2 Chandra Stewart-Keith (Panaché) District 9 Vacant
plants and animals desperately Promenade, Imperial Royale, Imperial, Regency Edgewater at Boca Pointe and Stratford Court
and Panaché
cling to shrinking habitats District 3 Steve Retzer (La Mirada) At Large Directors
and the threat of extinction. La Mirada and Meridiana Through May 2025
This is a global biodiversity District 4 Bob Greenstein (Lakes of La Paz) Robert Cornell (Costa Brava) Dan Gabrielle (La Corniche)
crisis crying out for OUR El Viento, La Paz, and Southwinds David Sussman (Valencia) Lawrence Gelfond (La Corniche)
action. The FORESTS, THE RAIN FORESTS, are crucial for Howard Weinstein (El Dorado) Zachary Elliott (Encantada)
our survival. Believe it or not, only about 1.8 million species
(National Wildlife Foundation) have been discovered so far
but there are from 3 to 100 million, with about 8 million yet to
be discovered. It is also known that many of these plants and
animals are in decline with many more in danger of disappearing
altogether. This global diversity crisis is starkly reflected in the
International Union for Conservation of Nature’s RED LIST
of threatened species which shows more than 31,000 species
threatened with extinction globally and records indicate that
900 have already vanished. Worldwide 63% of all seed plants
are at risk whereby they are at the top of the list of threatened
life forms, while 14% of bird species face extinction. There are
estimates that 1 million species worldwide are threatened with
extinction in the coming decades. The species diversity increases
from the poles to the equator. Tropical forests are very important
biologically as their rich genetic and ecological variation make
them vital for humanity. These species are highly specialized
and interdependent as their ecosystems that seek balance are
crucial for humanity. This makes these species highly vulnerable
to ecosystem imbalances.
The most significant source of ecosystem imbalance is the
human footprint. Humans threaten this balance due to habitat
destruction, unnecessary developments (over construction/
greed) and conspicuous consumption and use of products
that endeavor wide tracts of natural resources. One example
is the human appetite for palm oil for cookies and cosmetics
which is destroying the dwindling forests of Borneo and
Sumatra. The massive destruction of nature for human use
underlies the global biodiversity crisis. Today we can witness
changes in the global environmental conditions impacting our
ecosystems and undermining many conservations approaches
especially with species on the move in response to climate
shifts. The antidote resides within each of our grasps!!
Investing in and practicing climate-smart conservation can
help sustain and recover wildlife species. Working to ensure
that wild plants and animals not only survive but thrive in the
face of these growing challenges is part of the commitment
each of us can make!!

Steven E. Handwerker Ph.D. D.div, RM
Board Certified Licensed Psychologist
50 years experience
www.peacewk.org.
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