this is jane davenport. she is the senior attorney with the group defenders of wildlife on this earth day, talking conservation efforts. guest: thank you for having me. host: how would you describe your group? guest: defenders of wildlife is a nonprofit organization. our mission is to conserve native animals and plants in their native habitats, so we are laser focused on protecting biodiversity. host: what does biodiversity mean? guest: biodiversity means the amazing range and number of species we have on this planet. we are in a situation where we are losing species faster than we can even describe them. so, absolutely, we need to protect all the precious parts of our ecosystem in order to thrive as one species on a healthy planet. host: we hear a lot of species, their engagement, but is a particular one people may not know about that you would highlight? guest: i would like to bring up the north atlantic white whale, a species of whale that is only found in the waters of the united states and canada. we ar

host: this is jane davenport of defenders of wildlife, joining us this earth day.f you want to ask questions on how wildlife is protected, you can call us on the line. (202) 748-8000 for the eastern. (202) 748-8001 for and pacific time zones. if you want to post your question or comment via text, you can do that at (202) 748-8003. we are told that the endangered species act, 16062 sp currently protected, 1200 plus endangered ones. as numbers go, how do those numbers compare to species overall and what is protected? guest: we are in the middle of a global biodiversity extinction crisis. there are twin crises we face. both the extinction crisis and the climate crisis, and they are related to each other. globally, we are at risk of losing one million species. we are in another era fo extinction, just as serious as an asteroid hitting the planets. in the united states, we are very fortunate to have this law, the endangered species act, which is one of the strongest in the world for protecting species both within the united states and species that are in foreign countri

host: this is jane davenport. is the senior attorney with the group defenders of wildlife on this earth day, talking conservation efforts. guest: thank you for having me. host: how would you describe your group? guest: defenders of wildlife is a nonprofit organization. our mission is to conserve native animals and plants in their native habitats, so we are laser focused on protecting biodiversity. host: what does biodiversity mean? guest: biodiversity means the amazing range and number of species we have on this planet. we are in a situation where we are losing species faster than we can even describe them. so, absolutely, we need to protect all the precious parts of our ecosystem in order to thrive as one species on a healthy planet. host: we hear a lot of species, their engagement, but is a particular one people may not know about that you would highlight? guest: i would like to bring up the north atlantic white whale, a species of whale that is only found in the waters of the united states and canada. we are fe