At some point, probably in the 1980s, probably in a small brackish lagoon near Chichester, the last Ivell's sea anemone in the whole world died. That species, like many others, lived out its last days on this planet, in England, in the last few decades.
So what? I have a job and an iPad and a busy life, why should I care about one less sea anemone?
Species extinctions may seem peripheral to modern life, but they matter. They matter to me and they matter to a surprising number of people who believe society has a duty to protect the wondrous diversity of life on Earth.
Why? Because the health of our natural environment is vitally important for our economy and our wellbeing. And that's not me talking, it comes from government's chief scientist Prof Bob Watson, who on Thursday signalled a new way of thinking about our natural habitats and the life that lives there, in the first ever UK National Ecosystems Assessment (NEA).
Fighting extinctions is certainly at the heart of what the RSPB does, but for many people, and decision-makers in particular, it is far from being a major concern. For too long, the cumulative impact of vanishing animals and plant and the degradation of the natural world has gone on because it just isn't seen as a priority. It's a "nice to have", maybe, but hardly as critical as housing, jobs and education.
The problem is, viewing nature as a "nice to have" spectacularly misses the point. We are part of nature. The many tiers of human civilisation we overlay on top occur within, not separate from, our natural environment. If we ignore that inter-connectedness for too much longer, we will shoot ourselves in the foot.
Nature gives us clean water, fresh air and food; it protects us from flooding and from coastal erosion; it soothes and delights us and inspires art, music and literature. If we are to ensure our long-term prosperity and wellbeing, we must act soon.
The NEA is the first ever systematic appraisal of the UK's ecosystems, from forest to lagoon, and the services they provide for society. It provides compelling evidence for why it pays to invest in nature, right here, in the UK.
But it doesn't stop there. The government's natural environment white paper is expected soon. The first environment white paper in 20 years, it is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to set out strong ambitions for England's natural environment, and provide society with the tools to make those ambitions a reality. Nature conservation charities in England, and their 8 million members, have significant expectations from this paper – starting with those ever-important ambitions.
Accountability is a big deal to the coalition government, and rightly so. Establishing ambitious outcomes for the white paper is essential, but if government is to be held to account, these must be measurable. "More" is only a meaningful word if it is accompanied by a number – we must be able to track our progress toward these outcomes if we are to show our successes.
The final piece in a three-pronged approach is the England biodiversity strategy (EBS), which will be launched within a fortnight of the white paper. The environment secretary, Caroline Spelman, worked tirelessly at the UN's Nagoya Conference on Biological Diversity last October, and played a crucial role in securing a global deal to halt the loss of biodiversity. The EBS should be a roadmap towards the 2020 target set in Nagoya.
Today we stand at a crossroads. If we take decisive action now we will be rewarded with a natural environment far richer than it is today. Water voles and curlews will once again be a familiar feature of our countryside; farmers will be enjoying the springtime soundtrack of skylarks alongside healthy economic returns; more people will be getting out more often into our stunning wild places for leisure; and in offices around the UK, at planning meetings for every transport, building or renewable energy project, environmental impact will be on the agenda by default – it will be an instinctive part of everyone's decision-making and everyone of us will be all the better for that.
• Martin Harper is conservation director at the RSPB