North Carolina Biodiversity Loss

Not many people understand the seriousness of endangered species. Some sources go as far as trying to prove that the act does more harm than good. They do not realize how drastically their lives can be changed if one part of the food chain is taken away. In the essay “Why the Beaver Should Thank the Wolf” by Mary Hannibal, the essayist explains that a group of environmental nonprofits would challenge the federal government’s removal of Endangered Species Act protections for wolves in Wyoming. Hannibal does not explain the Endangered Species Act, but according to the The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration it “provides for the conservation of species that are endangered or threatened throughout all or a significant portion of

There are approximately 50 Red Wolves left in the wild today! Out of the 250 Red Wolves that are known to exist only 50 are roaming in the wild. The rest are in zoos or animal centers being repopulated. In the 1960s, there were plenty of these Wolves. Until, us humans caused their habitat loss, and predator control programs. They were considered endangered in 1973 and efforts started to be made to protect these creatures since then. The Red Wolf Protection Act should be passed to protect their environment, to repopulate them, and to bring them back into the wild.

Over the past several years, the gray wolf, native to the Wisconsin area, has been listed federally as an endangered species due to the graphic and horrific treatment they had received during the industrialization periods of America, when they were frowned upon and hated because they are predatory creatures and did, on occasion, attack livestock and pets. Because the government was encouraging the hunting, including bounties for the animals, the wolves were hunted to near extinction. However, now Wisconsin faces a new problem. With the reintroduction of the wolves to the state, and their continued endangered status federally, the population has increased well beyond expectations, reaching what could be considered a problematic state. A

According to a Collective Evolution article published on March 4, 2013, “260 million acres...of US forests have been clear-cut to create land for producing feed for livestock” (Ketler 1). In addition to this, National Geographic has released an article about deforestation stating that one of the worst outcomes of deforestation is the destruction of habitats for animals. The article goes on to state that deforestation is also a major cause of climate change and global warming. What is even worse is that this deforestation will likely not stop, as the world population swells and the demand for meats as well. So, this tragedy must be stopped now, or this could materialize extremely negative, complex issues for the environment and the population of the

It's a cold December night on the ranch, and you are slowly drifting off to sleep, when a sudden howl brings a shiver up your spine. You look out your window and see a Gray Wolf, the snow caresing its soft, eligant face, beautiful. When morning comes you go out to your livestock pen, one dead, that could cost you up to $20,000, that beautiful creature no longer seems so beautiful. In 1995, on accord of the Endangered Species Act, the Gray Wolf was introduced to Yellowstone National Park, Since then the ecosystem has flourished and more animals have come, rivers are not caving, trees are blooming and more plants are growing and tourism has exploded. So was wolf reintroduction really a good thing.

The state legislature has favored the ranching industry above ecology and continues to do so. Public polls “conducted by Boise State indicate that the overwhelming majority of Idahoans (nearly 70 percent) support wolf restoration” (Laverty, par. 4) and the legislature is seeking to remedy this by re-educating the public with “a balanced view of the impact of wolves on big game species, those sectors of the economy dependent upon sport hunting, livestock, domestic animals, and humans” (State, 3). Furthermore, the “cost of wolf reintroduction will be presented as a part of any public education program including direct and indirect costs” (State, 3).

The red wolf is listed as endangered under the U. S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) (United States Public Law No. 93-205; United States Code Title 16 Section 1531 et seq.). Wild red wolves inhabiting the north eastern North Carolina (NENC), USA recovery area and a single island propagation site (St. Vincent NWR, Florida) are designated as experimental non-essential populations under Section 10(j) of the ESA. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species lists the red wolf’s status as critically endangered.

Since earth was created, there has been a natural phenomenon of species across the globe appearing and disappearing. However, in the past century, many species of animals have been disappearing at an alarming rate. Mainly, this rapidly occurring issue is caused by humans. Humans that contribute to the harmful actions that cause side effects such a pollution, deforestation, habitat loss and poaching. The natural rate of extinction pales in comparison to the extinction rate caused by all of these. According to the World Wildlife Fund, the current rate of extinction is 11,000 times greater than the natural extinction rate. Several different efforts have been made in order to stop or slow down the extinction of earth’s species. The Endangered Species Act is possibly the most successful example of these efforts. It’s main purpose is to get a commitment from the American people that they will work hand in hand to help save species that are at risk of becoming extinct and never returning. This act was put in place in 1973 and since then, no other law about the disappearance of wildlife has been quite as accomplished. Many different species that are protected under this law are either fully recovered or on their way to becoming safer. Laws like these are helping many different creatures left and right, however, at the alarming rate that they are disappearing, something else needs to be done. What people don’t seem to realize is that we depend on many of the animals that we are

The United States is full of amazing habitats for numerous animal species. There are many examples of species that have been eliminated from the American landscape for economic benefit of a few individuals. There are many examples of species hunted and in some cases eradicated, but I believe there is no example that has had as many species affected in a single area as the Florida everglades. The number of available bird species in the everglades made it an ideal location for the mass slaughter of birds for their feathers. Now, and in the future, if people wish to preserve natural spaces, we need to understand how we interact with the environment and how our actions can impact these delicate ecosystems.

Living in North Carolina, there is a wide array of environmental issues that ranges depending on where you are in the state. In some locations the issues of factory farming and the runoff that is spread over miles of the local environment through spraying. In others, it is about the unstainable methods of harvesting lumber over large areas of our national forests and how over time we are damaging these ecosystems so badly that they will have a very difficult time recovering. But the issue that is the closest to me and carries the highest potential for environmental harm is the desire to begin offshore drilling.

One of the most important environmental influences on ecosystems is climate. Greenhouse gas pollution is acquiring heat in the atmosphere and inordinately raising global temperatures. Colorado, for example, has warming predictions of 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit by 2025 and up to 4 degrees by 2050. The impact of climate change can and will affect ecosystems in numerous forms. Such an impact is that warming of the climate will compel a variety of species to shift to higher elevations in order to find a temperature that more closely relates to the species survival. This migration can also be related to warming causing tree lines to rise several hundred feet per degree Fahrenheit that temperature rises thus removing habitat for many species. Warming will also cause a flux in precipitation and snowpack which can lead to wetland areas and stream temperatures to rise and alter habitats of cold-water fish. Climate change also directly affects sea levels as melting of polar caps are causing them to rise. This can cause salt water to intrude upon freshwater ecosystems and these species may not be able to adapt and they lose their habitats and must advance elsewhere or perish. This shock can also cause different predatory and prey species to leave which drastically alters the food chain and causing critters to starve or migrate to different areas where they may not be able to adapt and causing them to

Climate change is one of the major issues surfacing earth over the past century. The earth’s temperature has increased over the years leading to detrimental effects on the economic and life sources of people, especially that of agricultural production and livestock. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary (2014), defined climate change as a change in global climate patterns apparent from the mid late 20th century. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, (2007) predicts that by 2100 the increase in global average surface temperature may be between 1.8° C and 4.0° C. With increases of 1.5° C to 2.5° C, approximately 20 to 30 percent of plant and animal species are expected to be at risk of extinction. Moreover, the IPCC (2007)

The world is declining in biodiversity, 52% of it is gone. About 1% of the world species go extinct a year. That’s 1’000 to 10’000 species loss. Accompanying it, 19’300 species are endangered. Latin America loss 83% of its wildlife. Over half of Malaysia’s river fish species disappear during deforestation. Half of Australian state governments exploit the uses of national parks. The Alpine suffer dramatic biodiversity loss. The earth is clearly losing biodiversity. This is huge unnoticed threat that we need to address. Mankind depends on the ecosystem which depends on biodiversity. There are changes that need to be made and uphold to prevent difficulties from further escalating. This problem isn’t going to fix itself.

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

Global warming is affecting us as human beings more and more every year. It’s affecting our agriculture, even though plants are very resilient. It also can affect our cities near the oceans if the temperature rises too much. But global warming doesn't just affect us, it affects wildlife and nature too. Deforestation is one of the leading causes of global warming by releasing carbon dioxide into the air, it also has a effect on aquatic life by causing problems with their ecosystems.