World Wildlife Fund

Giant Panda eating (travelblog.org)

Have you ever seen the glorious expanse of tropical vegetation or the unique creatures that inhabit the world’s rainforests? Or have you ever witnessed a scorpion stinging its prey, or a zebra fleeing from the mighty roar of the African lion? Now, take a second, close your eyes and imagine a world without those things. A world with vacant trees, no birds in sight, no harmonious click of the cricket, or even that annoying bark of your neighbor’s dog. I don’t know about you but that doesn’t seem like a world I would wish to live in.

Those animals, this world, mean so much to me and I truly believe that we can change our path before it’s too late. I don’t want to ever see a tree with no life exuding from it, or even to not see a never-ending trail of ants on the sidewalk. These things mean so much to me. These things make me who I am and they allow me to feel like I have a purpose in life. I don’t want the only animals that I see, to be memories or pictures in a history book. And I’m not the only one who feels this way.

Polar Bear Cub (pissedonpolitics.com)

The animals, most likely, don’t want their life cut short because of human mistakes. From our trash dumps to our destroying of natural habitats, for such insignificant things like money, are examples of human mistakes. This issue is no joke, this issue is here and now, this is real. The ice is receding, the forests are being plowed, animals are dying, and everything is affected in the process. Our world is incomplete without all of its creatures and all of the towering timbers and barely visible plant life. Protecting the world is our job and several groups and organizations believe this to be true. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF), for example, does exactly this. They participate in all issues involving the conservation of natural resources and biological diversity, as well as the reduction of pollution.

WWF was founded on September 11th, 1961 in London, England, by a group of very inspirational men. These men were Sir Julian Huxley, biologist, Victor Stolan, businessman, Guy Mountford, Max Nicholson and Sir Peter Scott, both being ornithologists at that time. The WWF has been around for nearly five decades and has completed more than 12,000 projects. The organization has become one of the most respected and largest conservation groups of all the world. It specializes in what the WWF refers to as “flagship” and “footprint-impacted” species. Flagship species are the iconic animals, such as the polar bear, giant panda, tiger, and elephant. A footprint-impacted animal is one that has been moved or killed by uncontainable fishing, logging, or hunting. There are 36 priority species groups, like cacti, dolphins, rhinos, orangutans, whales, great apes, paddlefish, and Korean cedar pine trees, just to name a few. The WWF has done an amazing job of bringing back species and reducing the impact of humans. This alone shows that there is hope for the future.

Have you ever flipped on the TV to see a commercial where a polar bear and cub are floating on a small piece of ice, with no land in sight? Did you stop clicking the buttons of the remote and actually listen? With the way the world is, I doubt it. Some populations of those polar bears, those fluffy white, arctic beasts are becoming extinct and there’s nothing you can do, right? Wrong! There’s always something you could do, like donating money to assist non-profit organizations focused on the conservation of animals, like the WWF. You could volunteer your time to help researchers find a way to make a reverse domino effect, or even, just informing the people around you of the severity of this issue. Do something, get proactive, help some animal or plant prosper, or continue to sit idly by and change the channel. The choice is yours, but I know which one I’ll choose. Pro-life, pro-help, pro-conservation.