Biodiversity Loss | A Mindful Sceptic Guide
What if everything you knew about biodiversity was too sentimental?
We’ve all heard the headlines of mass extinction, collapsing ecosystems, and vanishing wildlife. But what if the real story is less about charismatic species and more about the quiet collapse of biological systems that keep us alive?
What if biodiversity isn’t just worth saving, but essential to understanding how we’ll feed our grandkids?
About This Book
In Biodiversity Loss, John Mark Dangerfield and Christopher M Scott pull back the curtain on one of the most misunderstood crises of our time. Drawing on decades of research, they challenge the simplistic narratives of conservation and reveal the deeper systems driving species loss.
This isn’t a call to save the whales. It’s a clear-eyed examination of why insects matter more than pandas, why global food systems are built on ecological quicksand, and why most international biodiversity targets are doomed to fail.
Combining rigorous science with contrarian insight, Biodiversity Loss asks hard questions. How many species do we really need? Can we measure the value of nature without commodifying it? And what will happen if we keep pretending this isn’t our problem?
Why Read This Book?
You’ll understand how biodiversity underpins food security and ecological resilience.
You’ll see why current conservation efforts are falling short — and what that reveals.
You’ll gain language and clarity to discuss ecosystem services without greenwashing.
You’ll sharpen your critical thinking about environmental policy and priorities
Why This Matters Now
With the global population growing by 8,000 people per hour and biodiversity declining at unprecedented rates, we face critical decisions about managing the planet's biological resources. Traditional conservation approaches are proving inadequate to address the scale of the challenge, while food security demands place increasing pressure on natural systems.
This guide arrives at a crucial moment when humanity must navigate the competing demands of food production and biodiversity conservation. Understanding these tradeoffs and making informed decisions about them will shape the future of human civilisation and the natural world.
A Taset From The Inside
"We are not losing biodiversity because we don’t care. We are losing it because we misunderstand what it is."
"If we treat biodiversity as a list of endangered species to protect, we ignore the dynamic, systemic nature of life itself."
"The language of ‘ecosystem services’ may help sell conservation, but it also risks reducing nature to a ledger of human benefits."
"Soil is where biodiversity becomes survival. Not just for worms and microbes — for us."
"The more we frame biodiversity as something external to us, the more likely we are to destroy it."
Who This Guide Is For
This guide is for:
Environmental professionals, policy thinkers, and science-minded general readers
Intellectual contrarians looking for grounded, evidence-based insight
Readers who value systemic thinking, critical inquiry, and ecological realism
It’s not for:
Those expecting feel-good stories or quick fixes
Readers unwilling to question the conservation status quo
About the Authors
Dr John Mark Dangerfield and Christopher M Scott are independent environmental thinkers with a taste for evidence over ideology. They write for curious minds that don’t mind a little discomfort on the road to clarity. This book is part of their ongoing mission to equip thoughtful readers with better questions, not just better answers.
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