News sources report the UN's launch of the International Year of Biodiversity. The agency warns "that the ongoing loss of species around the world is affecting human well-being," according to BBC News. "Eight years ago, governments pledged to reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010, but the pledge will not be met." The rate of species loss is "estimated to be as high as 1,000 times the natural rate as a result of human activities," according to this article in the Guardian.
Jonathan Eisen points out this video from Yale's Peabody Museum, which discusses biodiversity and the tree of life: