The Hundred and Ten Hopes

Manatees with more pals

Just when you thought the mood ring was jet black. 

Here's 110 reasons to have a little hope as we peeps continue to devour this big blue marble.  And by the way, solid, down to Earth (no pun intended) reasons to keep hands off the Endangered Species Act.  It works!  Imagine that.

There go leatherback turtle nests up from 27 to 615, there go blue whales increasing from 704 in 1980 to an estimated 2,497 in 2010.  Look at that, more American peregrine falcons streaking across the sky and a bevy of American piping plovers scurrying along the beach.

The overall conservation goal is increased biodiversity because that is key to healthy ecosystems, and healthy ecosystems mean healthy people. 

But many of these single species are integral parts of the food web if not top predators, which makes them primary characters in the biodiversity screenplay.  The list of 110 also means we just might pull out of this nosedive in time.  Hope springs eternal.  

Check out the list and the interactive, region-specific map, thanks to the Center for Biological Diversity.