Having received the 9th Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Ecology and Conservation Biology, zoologist Gene E. Likens warns in this interview about the urgent need to combat the effects of environmental pollution and its long-term impacts on ecosystems. Drawing on his pioneering work in identifying acid rain and studying biogeochemical cycles, Likens explains how human activities alter essential natural processes and how these alterations affect biodiversity, water quality, and forest health. His reflections underscore the need to strengthen environmental science, improve public policies, and promote sustainable management that mitigates damage and protects the ecological systems upon which human well-being depends.
The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Ecology and Conservation Biology category goes, in this ninth edition, to ecologists Gene E. Likens and Marten Scheffe
Having received the 9th Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Ecology and Conservation Biology, zoologist Gene E. Likens warns in this interview about the urgent need to combat the effects of environmental pollution and its long-term impacts on ecosystems. Drawing on his pioneering work in identifying acid rain and studying biogeochemical cycles, Likens explains how human activities alter essential natural processes and how these alterations affect biodiversity, water quality, and forest health. His reflections underscore the need to strengthen environmental science, improve public policies, and promote sustainable management that mitigates damage and protects the ecological systems upon which human well-being depends.
The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Ecology and Conservation Biology category goes, in this ninth edition, to ecologists Gene E. Likens and Marten Scheffer, for contributing in major and complementary ways to developing the theoretical underpinnings for a scientific understanding of gradual, abrupt and potentially irreversible ecosystem change in response to pollution and other ecological problems.
00:00 Introduction
00:05 Could you explain, in the simplest possible terms for a general audience, your contribution to understanding the impacts of human activity on the environment, particularly through the study of acid rain?
01:10 How severe is the problem of acid rain today? Has it been adequately addressed through effective environmental legislation, or is there still a long way to go to overcome this threat worldwide?
02:31 Do you believe the international community is doing enough to protect the environment from pollution, or are you concerned that the threats posed by human impacts on ecosystems are not being adequately addressed?
