Set up like a traditional funeral, with a grave, a coffin, eulogies and large photos of the animal in various stages of its life cycle. The speakers could be biologists who give mini-lectures about the animal and its evolutionary history and climate experts who can explain why they died out. The gravestones could be giant stone sculptures of the animal, with the lifespan of its species’ existence written in place of the “Born - Died” years, maybe with lots of other info carved into it for posterity, like its home regions, mating and familial behaviours, etc. Maybe local politicians could [be shamed to] attend. Maybe even celebrities who could come and sing or whatever.
A “wake” could be held before or after, where we can mingle with the experts and chat about their respective fields while we get drunk. Charities and green activist groups could fundraise amongst the revellers. Kids could draw or dress up as the animal for a competition. Basically anything fun for everyone who might come.
A celebration of the creature, and a hopeful plan for how to prevent further extinctions. And a party, because no cunt wants to go to an actual funeral where everyone’s miserable and hopeless, certainly not if that’s all that’s planned for the event.
If all over the world, we agreed to do this on the same day, it could have an impact. The graveyards of lost lifeforms would remain a constant reminder, and its sadly ever-growing cohort would show everyone who sees it how fucked things are getting.
/cope
Sorry for your loss.
Won’t change a thing.
Only counting known species, about 200-2000 go extinct each year. But the number could be an order of magnitude higher, according to WWF, the authority on biodiversity preservation. Even for the known species, who checks if every microbe, moss or tropical spider has been seen in the past 50 years?
Also, good luck getting people to care about invertebrates. Even if we identify which species went extinct, people will soon be bored hearing daily to weekly about a Hydroidolina member once seen in a South American bog. They’d change the channel to Fox News where they’ll be told about three animals once falsely declared extinct and how WWF are alarmists. “DoN’t ThEy rEaLiZe aNiMaLs mOvE? DiD ThEy ChEcK eVeRy BoG?” Or if the host is a tech bro: “HoW MuCh DaTa’S ThE DnA? i’LL GiVe YoU a GiGaByTe EvErY DaY iF YoU ShUt Up.”
A cursory Google search suggests 1-5 species go extinct every year, at 100 to 10,000 times the natural background rate. Your solution actually seems pretty practical and reasonable
Just waiting for humans to be next. This planet will be so much better when all you assholes are gone. Just me, a capybara, and like 30 cats, all roaming the land, getting into adventures, and exploring anchient abandoned ruins of what used to be society.
"Ok guys, this is Seattle. Yeah, it’s very rainy, I’m sorry. We’ll keep moving. But if you look in any direction, you’ll see buildings that used to be called starbucks. Well now currency has no value, so bucks aren’t much of a star anymore. Ah well, doesn’t matter. You guys wouldn’t like coffee anyways. Well…not that starbucks ever had actual coffee anyways. It was always vaguely coffee flavored sugar water.
Meow
“Yes, yes, I know. We can use this starbucks for shelter now, and get out of the rain, ok? I hear you.”
Meow
"What do you mean you’re pregnant??? With who??? Carl??? Really? Carl. You slept with Carl and got pregnant. Ok, fiiiiine, we’ll camp here until you have your babies.
And Carl? Nice! How’d you manage to swing that deal? Oh. You say cats don’t ask for consent in sexual matters…well, no, I guess that makes sense. Cats having sex always just sounds like screaming and crying. I guess I hadn’t stopped to think it was all rape."
“Meow”
“Yeah, go nuts. Piss and shit all over the place. Not like we’re staying here long.”
I’d watch that show.
Is it from The Flow (2024 film)?
Seems like the precondition to making it highly-publicised is that popular media actually wants to shine a light on this and isn’t prevented from it by those who buy their ads, sponsored articles etc.
It’s a bit of a catch22; to make the world better, the world already needs to be better. The media who would publicise this are probably already bringing stories about the evils of environmental destruction all the time, and they’re consumed by people who already know that environmental destruction is bad and want it to stop, but there’s only so much a minority can accomplish when big business can just pay off the people who could decide to really do something about it.
Your showers are depressing. You need to take more bubble baths.
An obituary section for the rainforest? Maybe 40 years ago, but print media is dead, baby! Nobody reads the newspaper!
maybe
