Instant Genius - Why it’s not too late to reverse Earth’s extinction crisis

Episode Date: March 29, 2026

Planet Earth is currently facing its sixth mass extinction event, with hundreds of species of plants and animals being lost for good every single day. For the first time in history, this devastating loss of the world’s flora and fauna is not being caused by natural phenomena, but by the actions of human beings. However, there is still hope that, if we start to take steps in the right direction, this looming crisis can be averted. In this episode, we’re joined by environmentalist and author Natalie Kyriacou to talk about her latest book, Nature’s Last Dance – Tales of Wonder in an Age of Extinction. She tells us how the influence of humans on the planet has become so profound that many researchers say the era we are now living in should be called the Anthropocene, talks us through some of the innovative solutions conservationists around the world are putting in place to save endangered species, and explains why we need to seriously reassess our current systems of economy, law and commerce if we are to turn the situation around. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Hello and welcome to Instant Genius, a bite-sized masterclass in podcast form. Every Monday and Friday, you'll hear world-leading scientists and experts talking about the most fascinating ideas in science and technology today. I'm Jason Goodyear, commissioning editor at BBC Science Focus. Planet Earth is currently facing its sixth mass extinction event, with hundreds of species of plants and animals being lost for good every single day. For the first time in history, this devastating loss of the world's flora and fauna is not being caused by natural phenomena, but by the actions of human beings.

However, there is still hope that if we start to take steps in the right direction, this looming crisis can be averted. In this episode, we're joined by environmentalists and author Natalie Kiriarku to talk about her latest book, Nature's Last Dance, Tales of Wonder in an Age of Extinction. She tells us how the influence of humans on the planet has become so profound that many researchers say the era we're now living in should be called the Anthropocene. She talks us through some of the innovative solutions. Conservationists around the world are putting in place to say,

endangered species and explains why we need to seriously reassess our current systems of economy, law and commerce if we are to turn the situation around. So welcome to the podcast. Thanks so much for joining us. Thank you for having me. So today we're talking about your latest book, Nature's Last Dance, Tales of Wonder in an Age of Extinction. So, I mean, it does what it says on the tin really there, doesn't it? So we're talking about extinctions. So let's start off with the situation that we're facing now. So you often hear that we're approaching a sixth mass extinction on Earth. So what exactly is

the current picture? It's quite bad. I mean, we have statistics that are dire. Between 1970 and 2018, there has been a 69% average decline in wildlife populations around the world. And, you many scientists constitute this as a biological annihilation. What we're seeing hundreds of species and hundreds of populations being eradicated. And so in this way, humanity has distinguished itself as the only species in the history of the planet that has almost single-handedly instigated a mass extinction of life on Earth. So we'll have a look at that in a minute. But just for context, when was the last mass extinction? event. So the last mass extinction was, well, probably the most famous, which was around 66

million years ago, and that was marked the end of the dinosaurs. Yeah, so 66 million years, that's an awful long time. It's not like these events are, you know, particularly common. And as he touched on that, like, this is due to the actions of human beings, to the extent where lots of people would like to call the current age that we're living in, the Anthropocene epoch. So, you know, what's the idea behind that? And, you know, there are a few arguments surrounding it. So to give context, when we talk about a mass extinction event, we're talking about an event where species are disappearing at a rate faster than new species can emerge. And so it's usually defined as 75% of all living species in existence eradicated or go extinct. And that's with

a short period. But we have to remember when we're talking about, we're talking in geological time. So a short period is usually considered millions of years. So humanity truly has distinguished itself in that the previous five mass extinction events happened over millions of years, whereas what we're seeing is the impact of humanity has just been within the last few hundred years. And so there has been quite a few disagreements on whether or not we are actually in a sixth mass extinction, but also whether we can have our own distinct geological time period and call it the Anthropocene, which essentially means the reign of the human. And that's to mark the immensity and domination of human impact on life on Earth. So right now, for the past

11,700 years, we have been living in the Holocene. And more recently, geologists have been, at arguing over whether or not we can categorize the last few hundred years as the Anthropocene. Yeah, so let's go through some of the factors that are driving these, this situation that we find ourselves in with extinction, which you talk about in the book. So I venture one of the first, if we say to somebody an extinct species, probably the first thing that will come to a lot of people's minds is well, oh, that's due to the action of hunting and poaching. So, you know, What impact has that had on these extinctions? Well, we have a range of impacts on wildlife.

We have exploitation, which could be wildlife trafficking. It could be poaching. We have mass deforestation that is another driver of extinction. We have climate change that's a driver of extinction. We have invasive species. So there's a whole host of factors that are driving mass extinction, and it is relentless. We know that nature is resilient, but we're not giving it any time to recover. And I think as our technologies grow, as our population grows, these destructive forces are becoming ever more significant.

And we're not giving any of our populations time enough to recover. Yeah, so let's have a look at the impact. You mentioned there climate change. So obviously, this is having a huge impact on almost every aspect of our lives at this point. at this point. But, you know, what kind of problems is it causing for animals, you know, is it habitat loss? Is it literally the fact that the climate's changed too much? And then it's not where they've evolved to live, things like this. What are some of the key problems there, you know? Well, we're seeing a range of things happening and it's, there's no real uniformity

in nature. So what we're seeing, for example, in Australia, we're seeing some generalist species might thrive while specialist species might not. So a generalist species is a species that can thrive and adapt in many conditions. And so we have the ibis in Australia, which we actually call it the bin chicken because we're Australian and we have no respect for any animals. We call it bin chicken, but you'll see bin chickens essentially rummaging through bins and they have learned to thrive in urban environments. And that is largely because their natural habitat has been destroyed, but they are able to adapt to humans, whereas specialist species like the koala are less able to adapt. And so we're seeing, you know, our Australia's most iconic species is now threatened

with extinction. And that is for a range of factors, one, we keep relentlessly destroying their habitat. Climate change has been driving and fueling more increased, more intense bushfires, which has eradicated huge numbers of koalas. And because they're also unable to adapt to an urban environment, what we're looking at is a future where potentially we have a small number of generalist species like the ibis, which we become indifferent to and almost treat them as invasive, even though they're natives, an eradication of our unique specialist species that are unable to adapt to humanity.

Yeah, so you mentioned a couple of times there, invasive species. So, you know, what do we mean by that? And, you know, how did they invade, if we want to call it that? Invasive species are generally, well, there's a few, we have pest species, and sometimes that might be a native species that has profligated to the point of causing destruction. But majority of invasive species are a travel over or bought over by humans. So in Australia, we have a huge problem with cane toads, for example, and also cats.

We consider them both invasive in that they are not native to Australia and they are causing widespread harm to our ecosystems and to our native species. So one of the biggest drivers of extinction in Australia, and for the record, Australia holds the record for the most mammalian extinctions of any continent on the planet. And one of the main drivers of extinction in Australia is cats. They kill millions of animals a day. And so these are species that aren't native and that are interfering with native. But there is actually some interesting conversations around whether or not we need to reimagine

or rethink our understanding of invasive species. Many ecologists are now saying we are at the point of no return with many of our invasive species and because we have species traveling across different countries and continents, how can we better help them adapt? and there are some species that are non-native to a region, but might settle in quite well here. I don't know. For example, in the UK, it could be cherry blossoms, where they might not be causing widespread harm, but they're also not native.

So, yeah, we have a similar thing with squirrels, don't we, over here? Yeah, the grey one came over. I don't know how, like on boats or something, I guess. Then it pushed, even though it's the same type of animal, you know, it got pushed. away. They don't seem to be able to live with one another happily. Have you heard the story of the, well, Japan's story with raccoons? In Japan? Yes. Well, Japan has an invasive species issue with raccoons. And it's because in the 60s, there was a children's book called Rascal and it was the story of a young

boy and his adventures with a pet raccoon. And that story soon was translated to film and it became a TV series and then every child in Japan was watching this TV series and it's this beautiful story of a little boy with his pet raccoon, but it became so popular that the kids in Japan then wanted their own raccoons. And so they started importing raccoons from the US and soon all the children had their own pet raccoons and they kept watching this TV series and anyway, things took a bit of a dramatic and unforeseen twist because they aired the series finale of Rascal the Raccoon and the main character Sterling decided that his raccoon, his pet raccoon would be much happier free in the wild. And so then all of the children in Japan decided that their raccoons should also

absolutely be free in the wild. And so they released their pet raccoons. And 50 years later, Japan, well, more than 50 years later, Japan is still grappling with this monumental invasive species outbreak. And as you know, like raccoons, they get into things. They cause quite a lot of mischief. It's because billions of dollars worth of damage to Japanese infrastructure. It's dismantled a lot of ecosystems. It's caused basically political, social and economic turmoil, all because of a children's book. Yeah, that's crazy. So let's have a look at some other species that you talk about, which some things that are quite fun and some solutions. So Kiwis, the iconic bird of New Zealand, they're under threat themselves due to like

different things like invasive species, etc. And you talk about a really unique solution that somebody's thought of of spraying them with deodorants. So can you tell us about that? I think, and that's what I love, it's the New Zealand sense of humour. conservationists are going to extreme lengths to rescue species on the brink. And one of those was that scientists in New Zealand developed a Kiwi deodorant, and the thinking was that it would mask the Kiwi's strong scent and protect them from predators. But there's a whole range of really interesting efforts being deployed to protect species. And some of them, I mean, some of them are just great marketing campaigns.

Some of them don't work very well. others, it's just a lot of experimentation. So in Australia we had as scientists create these cane toad sausages and they would drop from helicopters to basically save the northern quality. So there's, I mean, and even you have zookeepers that are dressing up in costumes. So I mean, I think a lot of people have seen the panda carers dressing in panda costumes. We also have in England, zookeepers were encouraged. Flamingos to mate by installing mirrors and playing tape recordings of Flamingo calls

because flamingos feel more comfortable when they can see the other flamingos around them. And so there's quite a lot of quirky conservationists doing some really unusual things to protect species. LinkedIn is pretty amazing at helping you grow your small business. We cannot make your email response time faster. We can help you sell market and hire in one place. We cannot help you find space for your three desk drinks. Why do you have three? And while we can't help you find the perfect volume for your presentation video,

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Today, in partnership with French acoustic specialist's focal, name audio creates systems that deliver exceptional sound and unforgettable listening experiences at home. Try it for yourself at a focal powered by name boutique. Visit focal powered by name.com for more information. So how about another big effect that you talk about in the book on all of this? And it's the sort of, I don't know if you call it rise, but of consumerism.

And like the corresponding exploitation of resources that comes with this. And you talk about something called conspicuous consumption. So what does that mean? Yeah, so I don't know if you've ever scrolled through a dating app and you'll see images of somebody who is casually reclined in a first-class lounge or wearing a Rolex. And it's sort of a display of your wealth and consumption.

And so a US economist called Thorstein Bebelin, he called, this conspicuous consumption. And it is essentially flaunting wealth and consumption to gain social standing. And he said it's not sufficient merely to possess wealth or power. The wealth and power must be put into evidence because esteem is only awarded on evidence. And so I think of this as a form of wealth activism, sort of an unsubtle performance of our consumption habits. We want more. We want oversized homes and annual mobile phone upgrades and platinum frequent flyer memberships and wardrobes, you know, with their tags still on all of the clothes.

And so evolutionary psychologists have started comparing this to peacocking and all the courtship displays of wild animals because, and it's, I guess, has led them to ask, is this an ancient mating ritual? Are we demonstrating our fitness to each other? Is this an evolutionary need to signal our desirable traits like wealth and abundance? and status, and that could secure, I mean, increase our chances of securing a mate. But my argument is that it's not encoded in our DNA to buy designer handbags or super yachts. We choose what we want to elevate in society.

And I do think there has been a role that social media has played in sort of transforming this conspicuous consumption into a stage, a really performative stage. So it's not to, I don't seek to shame anybody, but just to say that there are ways that evolutionary psychologists are explaining this behaviour, but it does not excuse this behaviour and how we choose to demonstrate our fitness is up to us, is up to society. We could choose to demonstrate our fitness through acts of kindness and community and, you know, generosity of heart and showcasing our volunteers. hearing. Instead, we are often choosing to showcase how much we consume.

Yeah, sort of one striking thing that sort of sticking with this topic that you write about in the book is the huge disparity between the sort of super rich and then the poorer communities in terms of not only their wealth, but in terms of things like their greenhouse gas emissions and their like ecological footprints. And they're sort of a single person's consuming the same as almost like a city in another part of it. Is that right? Absolutely. And we are seeing the divide between the poor and the uber rich is unparalleled in history. I mean, we talk about, and I make these cases between, you know, Roman emperors and we look back at history and we look back at history and think about this excess level of wealth and emperors dripping in gold.

They had nothing on what we have today. There's a real connection. between wealth, consumption, and environmental harm. So wealth correlates with higher levels of consumption, which then in turn creates more environmental impact. So the wealthier you are, the bigger your footprint on the world is. So just 50 of the world's richest people generate more carbon dioxide pollution from their consumption habits than the combined consumption emissions

of the poorest 155 million people in the world. And these numbers are just carbon emissions. So it doesn't include their ecological footprint. It doesn't include, you know, the impacts on biodiversity or, you know, forest-veld or whatever. That is just carbon dioxide. Yeah, so we've talked about the problem of super wealthy people and, you know, luxury goods.

I suppose we didn't really talk about that. But on the other sort of side of this coin is things like fast fashion. So I can go and buy a T-shirt made on the other side of the world, probably people in unpleasant conditions for like £2.99. It's ridiculous. And I know lots of people do do that. How much of an impact is this having? A huge impact.

So it's really interesting because we also have, conspicuous consumption isn't just limited to the world's wealthiest people or top earners. we're seeing lower and middle-class consumers increasing their spending, increasing their focus on fast fashion, fast fashion that is emulating luxury brands. And so fashion accounts for 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions. And I think what we're seeing is with social media and increasingly AI, this consumerism is being put on steroids. And it is increasingly becoming a marker of one's identity through all classes. and all incomes of society.

So let's have a look at some of the things that we can do then perhaps to fix, if not fix this problem, make it a little bit better. So obviously, if we stick with a fast fashion argument, so somebody's presumably a lot of people are making a lot of money off this and off the backs of a lot of poorer people. You know, so you think, well, why can't we just, you know, pay $7.99 for a T-shirt, not $2.99, make sure everyone's paid profit. and that these companies are behaving themselves.

I mean, for a lot of people, they'd probably say, well, that's just common sense. Yeah, I think so. I mean, we're seeing a lot of pushback over super profits. And I think greater calls for attacks on super profits and attacks on billionaires. And as we know, we have this culture within companies where they're also not, they're creating products that don't last. And so you're having to spend more. It's generating more waste.

and so their business model is certainly built on one of hyper-consumerism that is in their best interest. I do think that there is a lot that governments and corporates could be doing to both reduce the environmental impact and reduce harm on communities, one of which is just to simply have reasonable taxes. There's examples of the Norwegian wealth fund, which puts a high level of tax on fossil fuels, and then those funds can be used to support.

education and healthcare and ensuring you have a healthy, educated, happy population. I don't understand why we are not doing that now. We need to be fundamentally rethinking some of these systems because we have created a system in which there is a handful of people who make more profits than one could possibly need in 100 lifetimes. And we have the majority of the global population who are not only financially struggling, but prisoners to a culture driven by conspicuous consumption.

So another thing related to this that you talk about, which on the surface seems perfectly sensible, is carbon offsetting. You know, that didn't really play out as a lot of people hoped it would due to, you know, people kind of gaming it, sort of trying to get around the different regulations in, let's say, dubious ways. Yeah, there was a lot of hope for carbon markets. And the hope was that they would attract enough capital from the private sector to help fill this

multi-trillion dollar funding gap needed for environmental projects. And so the thinking was that everybody wins. You've got companies would pay to ensure that they're not adding more pollution to the atmosphere. And then they can brag about how they're carbon neutral. And then financial markets could start illustrating that there's economic incentive for businesses to restore a forest rather than destroy it. And investors would profit from green projects that they've financed. And then you've got communities that are at the heart of all of this

that are able to undertake environmental restoration projects. So it was everybody wins. And so essentially, the carbon market allows companies to fund projects that reduce emissions elsewhere if they can't fully cut their own pollution right now, which should have meant theoretically, that there is no overall increase in greenhouse gas emissions. But there were claims of mass abuse within carbon markets. So projects had exaggerated their emissions reduction.

There was ineffectual carbon offsets. There were human rights violations. We had in Peru, there were residents that were claiming that their homes were being cut down with chainsaws and ropes to make way for carbon markets. So it caused serious problems. And it also did a major disservice to the gen. new and the UN got involved. There was also a website launched, which I found very funny. It's defunct now, but it was called cheatneutral.com. And I think that's probably, it does the

best job of shining light on exactly what the carbon market does. So they offered a unique service for customers wanting to be unfaithful. They claim to be able to offset infidelity. And so they said at cheat neutral, we believe that we should all try to reduce the amount we cheat on our partners, but we also realize that fidelity isn't always possible. That's why we help you neutralise your cheating. When you cheat on your partner, you can add to the heartbreak pain and jealousy in the atmosphere. Cheat neutral offsets your cheating by funding someone else to be faithful and not cheat. That neutralizes the pain and unhappy emotion and leaves you with a clear conscience. And so they talk about these monogamy boosting offset projects and how if you cheat,

they'll invest in someone monoggers. And it's quite funny, but that is essentially what was happening in the carbon market. And it's had mixed results depending on the country and continent. Yeah, so the vast majority of us don't sit on UN panels in these big climate conferences or sit on the boards of these huge multinational companies. So is there anything that we can do on an individual level to help with this problem? There are a range of individual actions, of course. And I acknowledge that people are a little tired of being told about how individual actions can make a difference.

It's someone that's, you know, you've got a 12-year-old girl recycling her Pepsi can. And in the background, there's countries going to war with each other. millions of barrels of oil being dropped into the ocean. And so it does feel like our actions pale in comparison. And that is why my focus of this book is twofold. One, how do we mobilize communities to work together to drive positive change and how do we sort of return to our roots to start connecting with greater environmental and community-led campaigns? But two, let's start having more conversations and focusing more on systems change. We have these systems, our dominant economies, our institutions, our laws, technologies, media, politics, even our cultural psyche.

These are systems that we have made up. They do not exist without humans. We just made them up. And these systems, we sort of, we've declared them immutable. We've, we've followed them with devotion. But I think what we're seeing and more and more people are starting to see this is that they do not work for the majority of people. The economy does not work for the majority of people. Political systems do not work for the majority of people. And so if we have so many people who are suffering as a result of these systems, rather than tweak these systems, why aren't we talking about what we can build differently? And so I do see power in the individual to push for that change, real systemic change. Thank you for listening to this episode of Instant Genius, brought to you

from the team behind BBC Science Fakers. That was Natalie Kiriaki. To discover more about the topics we've just discussed, check out her book, Nature's Last Dance, Tales of Wonder in an Age of Extinction. If you liked what you just heard, then please do consider subscribing to Instant Genius

on your preferred podcast platform. If you'd like to see our guests and hosts in person, then why not check out our YouTube channel at Science Focus. The current issue of BBC Science Facus magazine is out now. Pick up a copy wherever you, buy your favourite magazines or download us on your app store of choice. You can also find us on Apple News or online at sciencefocus.com. This podcast is sponsored by Name, Audio and Focal. The texture and emotional depth of music can be lost through digital sources or poor signal. Name audio believes

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