“The loss of biological diversity is second only to nuclear warfare in its threat to human and other life on this planet. ” - U. S. Environmental Protection Agency Biodiversity is the variability among living organisms from all sources, including inter alia [among other things], terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are a part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.Therefore, biodiversity is the connection among all living things on the planet, including their habitats and their interaction in the environment and all the living things on the planet.
But as ages and generations pass, biodiversity’s flow have had been disturbed. This is caused by the following elements: * Constructing new roads due to the demand of urbanization. When urbanization takes place, it means there will be destruction of habitats among a lot of species. And to make the traveling means of urbanization convenient, C3 roads and shortcut roads are being built.
As these roads are built, animals are displaced.Some of these animals may be in the care of animal rescuers; some found no habitat which caused for them to become injured or even die and be not able to reproduce anymore; and a lot are threatened by people and other animals and causes for them to become outnumbered. As an animal population grows or diminishes in one specific area, other species, plant life and even the soil are affected. When these factors are affected, biodiversity among animals and their environment is disturbed and vanishes little by little. * Population Growth.
The earth’s total human population nowadays is reaching a number close to 9billion.Even with healthy ecosystems and crops growing at full capacity, earth can only sustain a limited number of people. As the population grows, so does the waste, as well as carbon footprint humans leave on planet. More people mean more wild land needs to be converted to farming land or residential properties, more pollution is created and more natural habitats are invaded. As people grow in number, cities are also widening to accommodate them. As cities are widening, natural spaces get smaller, affecting the animals and plants, and the interactions taking place between them in the environment.
* Human Activities. Human activities also causes threats to the biodiversity. Activities like deforestation such as kaingin, cutting down immature trees, throwing garbage on parts of water, killing endangered animals on the forest for selling purposes, are just few examples of the hundred human activities. Most probably, this activities contributes a lot to the destruction not only of the biodiversity, but also of the planet where we live, the Earth.
If human activities are done throughout the day everyday, probably, this world would suddenly collapse and life here on earth will be over. * Over-consumption or unsustainable use.Over-consumption is the harvest of species at a rate higher than what it can sustain through natural reproduction of the population. This means, we consume the products of the specie more than it could produce. In Ontario, for example, wild American ginseng has been over-harvested from its natural rich woodland habitat to the point of being endangered. * Having a car.
Fossil fuel combustion is one of the most serious environmental pollutants in the world. Exhaust emissions, through smoke belching, are the primary cause of this, but pollution also comes from the evaporation of stored gasoline and other fuels.The less efficient a car is, the worse the problem becomes, because it consumes more gas and produces more emissions. Cars that aren't properly maintained can smoke or produce visible emissions. This smoke is caused by incomplete combustion, which releases toxic chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) into the air. And the problems don't stop there.
Old tires end up in landfills, where they're often burned, releasing more CFCs. People sometimes dispose of coolants, lubricants and other car products through the sewers, which empty into rivers or other water sources.These chemicals mix in with the water and end up in the fatty tissue of fish, then traveling on bad effects up the food chain. * Hunting wild animals for fun and for business.
Overhunting animals for fun can affect not only the animals themselves, but also their habitats. Exotic animals such as rhinos are hunted for their purported medicinal benefits. Elephants are hunted for their ivory. Here in the Philippines, tuko, even not medically proven, are hunted and being sold for the belief that it can kill cancer cells and cure cancer thoroughly. Crocodiles also are hunted for their skin, which is turned into expensive leather products.
Even owning an exotic pet can seriously affect the environment and the systems that it have. It doesn’t only take animals out of their natural habitats in the ecosystem, but it also encourage humans to go to a particular area where those animals are located, and catch them frequently. This kind of human interaction can affect the soil so much and causes some wild animals to migrate and reduce their population. And there is the risk of mixing of a new specie on a new environment, where it would undergo a lot of threats on that particular environment that they are not used to have.Unfortunately, many pet owners are not aware of how difficult it is to take care for an exotic animal.
Once the pet owners can’t handle the behavior of its pet, they release them into the wild. When this happens, these species might either prey on local animals nor us people, reducing their population, or cause changes in the environment and the wild life in the area. * Pollution in varied forms. Pollution is emitted in various forms, including atmospheric, air, land, water pollution, through pesticides, particulate matter, heavy metals and emission of smoke from vehicles that are not well-managed.There are thousands of pollutants circulating through the earth’s ecosystems, and many of these materials have significant, large-scale impacts on forests and aquatic ecosystems.
Acid precipitation, for example, has had a significant impact on Ontario's maple forests and industrial pollutants is known to have caused significant declines in populations of many bird species including Peregrine Falcon and Bald Eagles. Pollution can also disrupt ecological processes. For example, scientists are now linking light pollution to declines in migratory songbirds. * Not recycling materials.We don’t often appreciate recycling usable materials because we are used of buying a new one.
In fact, only 28 percent of the waste produced in a household is ever recycled or composted: Most ends up in landfills, and the most percentage is burned at combustion facilities, and some are on the rivers. As trash rots, it produces a large amount of gases, which make their way into the air or infiltrate nearby bodies of water. Toxic things like batteries and chemical products are especially damaging, but rubber, plastic and other common household items are also a problem.One of the gases produced by rotting garbage is methane, which can be explosive if we don't manage it properly and prevent it from building up in enclosed containers or facilities. When it comes to paper, the statistics are even more startling.
To produce virgin paper fiber, we need trees. Today, most of the lumber used in paper production comes from managed forests, which have been planted specifically for this purpose. However, these forests tend to be very uniform, usually consisting of a single type of tree and little other vegetation growing nearby. Lack of diversity affects the interaction of species and can damage the ecosystem.Making paper from scratch also requires up to 70 percent more energy and 790 more gallons of water than it would require to recycle the same amount of paper. * Continued killing and hunting of animals and insects.
This has been the most significant reason why species are endangered. Hunters hunt for some wild animals for the reason that these exotic animals have tastier meat, and they could sell it on very expensive prices. Some also kill animals for the fear that those animals could harm them before they know, some kill animals just to show that they are wise, and some kill them just for fun.The examples of killing animals for fun is by shooting birds, deer, or any wild animals with no certain reason.
However, pest insects can ruin anything from a small garden to large farm crops. Insecticides, pesticides and other chemical means of control can help, but there's a price to be paid for their use. For starters, many products that kill pest insects will also kill beneficial insects, including bees, ladybugs and worms. Unless you take the time to identify the pest insect properly and research a way to kill it, you might end up causing major damage to the ecosystem.
Honey bees are one of the key insects needed for pollination, and their decline can have a big impact on the environment. Bees pollinate not only flowers, but also crops and forage greenery such as clover, one of the main grazing plants for livestock. There are a lot of threats to biodiversity. But the major and the most disastrous threat to biodiversity is the phenomenon of climate change. * Climate Change.
Climate change posses a fundamental threat to the places, species, and people’s livelihoods. Sea levels are rising and oceans are becoming warmer. Disasters are often, coming in a very critical level and strength.Longer, more intense droughts threaten crops, wildlife, and fresh water supplies. From the polar bears and penguins in the Arctic to marine turtles off the coast of Africa to all the places in the world, our planet’s diversity of life is at risk from the changing climate.
Greenhouses gases, such as carbon dioxide, trap heat in the atmosphere and regulate our climate. These gases exist naturally, but humans add more carbon dioxide by burning fossil fuels for energy (coal, oil, and natural gas), burning garbage and plastic materials and tires, and by clearing forests (deforestation).Greenhouse gases act like a blanket. The thicker the blanket, the warmer our planet becomes. At the same time, the Earth’s oceans are also absorbing some of this extra carbon dioxide, making them more acidic and less hospitable for sea life.
The increase in global temperature is significantly altering our planet’s climate, resulting in more extreme and unpredictable weather. For instance, heat waves are becoming more frequent and many places are experiencing record droughts followed by intense rainfalls. In the Arctic, icebergs are eventually melting, which causes threat to the animals there.Melting of ice does not only affect the life of the animals in the Arctic, it would also contribute more water to some seas, and would increase higher water level. We are also very affected of climate change.
So much heat and so much coldness causes us costly illness. Truly the weather is really unpredictable nowadays. Summer season became wet seasons, and the wet season become summer season. Yes, we could adjust to any seasons, but we are not very durable enough to escape the case of changing climate. Hope that we people would give importance to mother earth to lessen the earth’s destruction.
