Only 15% of the Earth’s lands and 7% of the oceans have been protected in a natural state. Some scientists say a majority of wild species will go extinct if humans don’t conserve at least 50% of the Earth. Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss has pledged $1 billion to help protect 30% of the planet by 2030. Wyss previously donated $450 million to protect wild species on roughly 40 million acres around the world. A Swiss philanthropist’s foundation will donate $1 billion to conserve the planet’s land and oceans in an effort to expand the availability of clean air and drinking water. Hansjörg Wyss, a billionaire and conservationist, wrote Wednesday in a New York Times op-ed that he will donate the money over the next 10 years through his Wyss Foundation. Lands and waters are best conserved when they become public national parks, wildlife refuges, or marine reserves, Wyss wrote. He aims to help conserve 30% of the Earth in a natural state by 2030. According to researchers at Brown University, animal and plant species are going extinct 1,000 times faster than they did prior to human activity. A recent study in the journal PNAS predicted that humans will cause […]