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On New Year’s Day, the United Nations designated 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity. Citing the rapid extinction rates of plant and animal life accelerated by human activities, the year will officially launch next Monday in Berlin, Germany. Shortly thereafter, an international gathering will convene on the issue at the Paris headquarters of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, on January 21st and 22nd. Underscoring the increasing threat to biodiversity, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, which issues the Red List of Threatened Species, recently released a report last month examining ten animal species that will be most vulnerable to the effects of unchecked global warming. The arctic fox, koala, and the emperor penguin are just a few of the animals profiled in the research charting the consequences of changes in marine, freshwater and terrestrial habitats caused by continued carbon emissions. The international organization has previously criticized governments for failing to take sufficient action to slow down extinction rates. Meanwhile in the United States, the Obama Administration faces a lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity for delaying the protection of the several species of penguins under the Endangered Species Act despite being threatened by global warming and industrial fisheries.

GUEST: Kieran Suckling, Center for Biological Diversity

For more information, visit www.biologicaldiversity.org.