- 137 species are estimated to go extinct each day
- 50,000 species are estimated to go extinct each year
- 78 species were on the original U.S. endangered species list
- 1,201 species were on the U.S. endangered species list as of October 1999
- 43 percent of endangered and threatened animals in the U.S. depend on wetlands
- 40 percent of all modern medicines are either modeled on or synthesized from natural compounds derived from various species
- 95 percent of known plant species have yet to be screened for their medicinal values
- 30 million species of plants and animals -- more than half of all life forms on our planet -- live in rainforests
Sources:
1, 2 -- Natural Resources Defense Council
3 -- Environmental Defense Fund
4 -- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
5-7 -- National Wildlife Federation
8 -- Natural Resources Defense Council
This Halloween, cut flesh for the climate
WWF finds tons of new species about to be wiped out by climate change [slideshow]
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