Heaven and Hope The Wilderness Society 2010-2011, “Heaven and
Hope” written by Jeff Rennicke The lands that belong to all
Americans have long provided wilderness, recreation, and
heavenly scenery. Now, scientists say, protecting them just
might hold our best hope of saving the planet. “As confusing as
these numbers seem, one number is increasingly clear, says
Harvey Locke of The WILD Foundation: 50 percent. For decades,
according to Locke, conservationists pushed for protection of 10
to 12 percent of the Earth as a “politically acceptable” goal.
“When those other targets were set they were bold and
visionary,” he says, “but the world has changed and
those…targets no longer conform to what we’ve come to understand
scientifically nor to the current very serious conditions that
exist around the world for nature.” His ambitious goal is the
target of a new program called “Nature Needs Half,” which seeks
the designation of at least 50 percent of the world’s
terrestrial surface to a level defined by the Internationa