Biodiversity is the variety of plant and animal life in the world or in a particular habitat, a high level of which is usually considered to be important and desirable. Slowly the Earth is changing because of climate change and biodiversity is very important now to ensure that a rapid loss of animals doesn’t affect the way the world will grow in the future. In this report the issues of extinction will be discussed along with an example of an extinct animal called the Diprotodon optatum. Sustainable practises, such as recycling, help to prevent the extinction of animal and plant life all over the world. This essay will argue that the prevention of extinction of animals is essential to ensure that the biodiversity of the Earth is sustained.
The Diprotodon optatum or ‘giant wombat’ was
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One way to maintain biodiversity is to reduce energy use. By reducing energy demand, carbon dioxide release into the atmosphere is reduced, which in turn means that the contribution towards global warming is lowered and the need to disturb habitat for fossil fuel prospecting and extraction is lessened (Morris, 2013). One way that energy use can be reduced is by being watchful of the energy that is used and how. For example, keeping a light on all day is unnecessary if no one is home and the sun is out. Turning off one light can save a lot of energy, so if everyone did it, the demand for energy will lower. Each gallon of gasoline burned releases 20 pounds of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (Hooper, 2004). By taking public transport, carpooling, walking or bicycling a lot of carbon dioxide is saved from being released into the air, in turn, helping the maintenance of biodiversity. Incorporating renewable energy sources into homes is also a great way to drastically reduce energy consumption (Hooper, 2004). Reducing the release of greenhouse gases through the use of energy is very important and can be crucial to the maintenance of
The atmosphere is another important component of the biosphere. Every day, countless cars and factories releases greenhouse gases and pollutes it. A simple strategy would be do not use cars. Instead of driving, people can bike to work or even walk there. In fact, carpooling and taking public transit would create less atmospheric pollution than an individual driving their own car. In addition, people can buy locally grown foods to reduce their “greenhouse footprint”. By buying locally grown foods, it supports local businesses as well reduces emissions because the food traveled shorter distances. And finally, eco-activists and even concerned folks can hire lobbyists to exert pressure on the government to create environmental policies that help to protect the atmosphere.
Biodiversity loss threatens to disrupt the function of ecosystems, with the potential of consequences for humans as well. Often this loss is measured by species extinction rates, but considerations should be made to include population diversity with measures including changes in size, number, distribution and genetic composition of population and potential implications those changes may have (Luck et al., 2003). Avise (2004) goes as far as to say biodiversity is genetic
Conservation of our biodiversity not only demonstrates foresight, it protects the natural resources so vital to our own continued existence. The value of any single species to an ecosystem is immeasurable; the environment will not endure without its species, despite size or niche. These animals are not dispensable. And, they are apt to face extinction in the not too distant future, unless a resolve for their preservation is insisted by the public and enforced by governments internationally.
In today’s world, hardly any species of wildlife become extinct from natural causes. Europeans hunt animals to such an extent that we classify it as overhunting. We destroy their habitat, and introduce other animals that are a threat to endangered animals or are competition for resources and food. Habitat destruction is the greatest threat to both animals and plants.
Biodiversity creates an interconnected system where each part builds off of one another to create a functional ecosystem. For example, a small insect such as a bee is critical for survival of many other species because it pollinates so many plants. Currently, the population of bees is dramatically decreasing due to anthropogenic actions such as using harmful pesticides. If the population of bees go extinct, so many species would follow because they would not get pollinated. This is problematic because humans do not have the time or the funds to replicate the vital work of the bee.
The number of wild animals on Earth has halved in the past 40 years . Creatures across the land, rivers, and the seas are destroyed as humans killed them for food in unsuitable numbers, while polluting or destroying their habitats.
Long-term survival of a species depends on its ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions (Murphy, 1994). Genetic diversity within a species, which has taken 3.5 billion years to evolve, makes adaptations to these changing environments possible. Unfortunately, the rate of extinction of genetically diverse organisms is rapidly increasing, thus reducing this needed biodiversity, largely due to the human impacts of development and expansion. What was an average of one extinction per year before is now one extinction per hour and extinct species numbers are expected to reach approximately one million by the year 2000 (WWW site, Bio 65). As a result governmental and societal action must
Getting CFL bulbs can save you over $40 a year rather than keeping your regular incandescent lights. Purchasing water conserving showerheads and toilets can also help not only by cutting emissions, but it will save you money too! When building or purchasing a house, be sure that the insulation in it isn't bad. It needs to be good and reliable. This saves on energy and your money as well. Widows are important too. These are just a few out of the hundreds of ways that you can help. So when people think that they can't help, or have no authority when it comes to reducing the amount of carbon dioxide you use, each person can help. If every person took this serious and pulled their share, maybe the carbon dioxide emissions wouldn't be as high and maybe our oceans wouldn't have to suffer.
Support for these claims are documented through extensive research into numerous practices that individuals could take part in to diminish their carbon footprint and greenhouse gases emissions. These small changes include of catching public transport more regularly, replacing regular incandescent light bulbs with energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) which use 60% less energy than a regular bulb and buy more locally grown and produced foods.
Global warming has been a controversial topic for years and some have even denied its existence; however, as more studies are being published every day in regards to our changing climate, it is hard to ignore this growing issue and how humans contribute to it. The term greenhouse gases refers to the group of gases that are primarily responsible for global warming and chief among these gases is carbon dioxide. Rising carbon dioxide levels can be attributed to a combination of burning fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, and petroleum as well as deforestation in general ( Source A). To slow the effects of global warming, it is important for leaders in our society to consider their greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon dioxide, and make
“Biological diversity is of fundamental importance to the functioning of all natural and human-engineered ecosystems, and by extension to the ecosystem services that nature provides free of charge to human society ”(Lloyd, 2014). Biodiversity is very important to both plants, animals and humans on Earth and if one species is destroyed it throw the balance off .
We should promote the conservation of our ecologies by reducing the amount of waste that goes directly into the environment and promoting green thinking and living all across the world. For instance, we could protect our environment by reducing the amount of cattle that feed in a certain area and by prohibiting the introduction of alien-invasive species as they deplete minerals and food in the soil for other plants to consume.
The scale and pace of change is dramatic; for example, the extinction of species is occurring at around 100-fold pre-human rates4. The population sizes of vertebrate species have, on average, declined by half over the last 45 years5. More than 2.3 million km2 of primary forest has been felled since 20006. About
It is reported that nearly three quarters of green house gases are a result of humans burning fossil fuels from nonrenewable energy, cars, and electricity (LaMeaux, 2014). The effects of carbon emission on climate change are having devastating and many irreversible
The health of the earth degrades with the destructive activity of human beings. A recent study by a group of scientists looked at twenty four different services that the earth’s ecosystems provide for humans, ecosystem services, and found that fifteen of them are in need of desperate help (Gazette 31 March 2005). These services are vital to the survival of both human and nonhuman life and include filtering water and providing nutrient rich soils and ocean waters. Many of the members of these various ecosystems are also decreasing in numbers. In a British survey of bird populations found that in the 200 birds of Britain tracked there was about a 54% population decrease between the 1968-1971 tacking period and the 1988-1991 tacking period. In two other surveys of 254 native plant species from the same area there was a decrease of about 28% during the past 40 years. Humans are pushing the sixth mass extinction (Gazette March 19, 2004).