Innovation and discovery have always been a double edged sword. While our society and culture progress with new inventions, these same inventions can tend to create new problems. It’s a story as old as time. The printing press helped spread knowledge and educate the masses, but also provided a tool for propagandists. Nuclear energy has helped provide electric power to countless households without the need for fossil fuels, but has also allowed for the engineering of weapons of mass destruction. The list goes on. 

In the 21st Century, the Internet has helped give everyone a voice; it has connected people and alerted them to injustices taking place halfway around the world, but it has also helped facilitate atrocities. In a recent article, the BBC has highlighted the dangers of sharing newly discovered species on the Internet. While we should rejoice in learning of wildlife discoveries, the article tells of a sordid twist of fate. Due to the rarity of many such species, writing about them can help them become objects of desire for limitless illegal wildlife collectors worldwide. While wildlife enthusiasts read of discoveries around the world, so do smugglers and traffickers. 

This reality puts conversationists in a bind. It is difficult to raise money for new discoveries and conservation efforts without sharing findings but sharing findings can make their work more challenging. Some conservationists argue that listing species as endangered can seal their fate. The BBC article offers no solutions to the problem but we ask you: How would you solve this dilemma? 

Read the BBC piece here. 

David Attenborough pays tribute to Dian Fossey.

The natural world contains about 8.7 million species, according to a new estimate described by scientists as the most accurate ever.

But the vast majority have not been identified - and cataloguing them all could take more than 1,000 years.

• Animals: 7.77 million (12% described)
• Fungi: 0.61 million (7% described)
• Plants: 0.30 million (70% described)
• Protozoa: 0.04 million (22% described)
• Chromists: 0.03 million (50% described)

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography report that “rising temperatures and decreases in sea-ice are altering the physical  conditions required to sustain large krill populations.” This combined with increased competition for the shrimp-like creatures has led to a decline in penguin populations.