Humans and the Decline of Biodiversity Essay

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

For instance, transporting the materials from the mines from place to place can lead to the roads being congested, putting a strain on the roads. Evidence of this is shown in Fractured Land when Lisa is observing a high way. She writes of various trucks involved in the fracking industry creating traffic and putting wear and tear on the roads of U.S. Highway two (55). Many of these mines are in more rural areas where roads were not made with the intention of there being as much pressure on the roads as the activity with the mines creates. This means the increased activity on the roads results in them breaking down. The same goes for these trucks as it does for the movement of vehicles shipping in materials from different nations for the fracturing to take place. More congested roads also means greater odds for accidents. This is evident when Westburg, the Fractured Land author writes of an accident that occurred along U.S. Highway 2. Multiple trucks collided until one of them crashed into a tanker trailer with crude oil. This vehicle exploded and burned for many hours, resulting in the closing down of the entire highway (Westburg 141). Because the majority of these mines are built in areas where the roads are not made to suit traffic, the roads are too narrow. This ultimately leads to a rise in tragic accidents. Also, along with more goods being mined comes more products to be shipped over seas. This would inevitably lead to more pollution. For instance, "In 2013, transportation contributed more than half of the carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides, and almost a quarter of the hydrocarbons emitted into our air" (Union). This is tainting both the environment and human health, as the only atmosphere the world relies on is being tainted by globalization. The trucks and planes involved in shipping the metals from place to place would mean more fossil fuel

“Maintaining biodiversity at its present level is impossible if people are going to achieve a reasonable standard of living in the near future”

However, there if there is something good there has to be a bad part as well. Even though mining is helping the technologies to grow rapidly everyday, there are side affects caused to the people live near mining areas, especially indigenous people, given that a substantial number of mining operations are on or near Indigenous land, the increase in mining investment may have extremely affected Indigenous communities. There are concerns that, in remote mining areas, the increases in house costs generated by the mining boom mean that anyone who doesn’t work in the mining industry, especially those who are 100% relied on government benefits, will find it harder to afford housing. It will not affect the current generation; however, it will have a huge impact on the future generation. For example, parents wont be able to afford money for their children to go to school, which will result in, kids started working as child labours or slaves and people will find it hard to afford foods and

In a world that we, as humans, have begun to destroy and shape for the worse, there is still so much that we are oblivious to. From the illegal endangered animal trade to harmful CO2 and methane, Racing Extinction has revealed to both myself and society the constantly ticking clock that is Earth.

As society starts to progress and increase in size our energy requirements also need to adhere to new standards of amount and production. Petroleum products have always been at the epicenter of energy production, and seems as if it will always be that way. But at what cost? According to research conducted by our seismic geoscientists around the globe, the method of “fracking” is a directly hazardous to our earth’s precious top layer. The crust being weakened gradually by constant drilling, resulting to poor support for the faults within the earth’s. Because of this seismicity (or earthquakes) have been reported along the fault lines of many major gas well sites. According scholarly sources this leads to many negative consequences such as gas

Studies, conducted in the Midwestern United States, have shown an increased amount to earthquake activity surrounding drilling locations. From 1970 to 200, the region experienced approximately 20 quakes per year; it experienced 29 between 2001 and 2008 with an exponential increase from 2009 to 2011 (Ehrenberg 22). The problems do not seem to be associated with the drilling itself, but with the waste water disposal re-injected back into sandstone below the Earth’s surface. The waste water acts as a lubricate between fault lines causing movement resulting in the shift of bedrock formations. Both advocates and opponents acknowledge the possibility for earthquake damage, however fracking proponents believe the risk is validated by the associated economic

The mining process involves many big vehicles and other technology that release huge amounts of pollution into the atmosphere speeding up global warming and causing climate change.

The adverse reactions that the chemicals have on drinking water could cause birth defects and even death. Most drilling companies do not even check their drilling zones for adequate environmental protection. This is a major health hazard, and should be addressed. (Allen, 2013). Fracking uses a large amount of water. In some areas water is a valuable commodity and in limited supply. This could cause problems for those areas if the drilling process were to use too much water. The disposal of waste water from drilling is also a problem. The way in which a drilling company’s disposes of their waste has been known to cause tremors, which could lead to a massive earthquake if one is not careful. These companies need to rethink their process in order to provide the environment with the protection it needs.

Bill Freedmen, author of “Endangered Species—Human Causes Of Extinction and Endangerment” notes, “scientists approximate that present extinction rates are 1,000 to 10,000 times higher than the average natural extinction rate.” These distressing numbers should be acted upon to save the endangered species and avoid the catastrophic change to this planet if these species were to become extinct. In order to produce change, people need to recognize that habitat loss, climate change, and poaching are all factors in why our animal species are going extinct.

Nearly everything that a human does is in response to the environment. Our lives are defined by what is around us and what we find in front of us, whether this means accepting, dealing with or changing it. This has been the pattern since primates first stood up and became Homo erectus, and has continued until we considered ourselves doubly wise. The shape of the land affected where humans moved. Weather was something with which to contend. Fire affected humans until they conquered it – and herein lies the core of the relationship. The earth affects humans, and humans affect it back, viewing characteristics and patterns as problems and challenges, and finding a solution.

Since before the industrial evolutions humans have been pumping green house gasses—carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons— into the atmosphere however, it wasn’t until recently that the amounts being produced are shoving the Earth into a sixth extinction. While the causes of this upcoming extinction are constantly debated on it has earned itself the name Holocene extinction. This name is derived from the theory that humans are the main contributors to this extinction. To investigate the cause Elizabeth Kolbert, and American journalist and professor at Williams College, took the world on a wild and saddening journey on the human contribution to this looming extinction in her novel, The Sixth Extinction; An Unnatural History. Not only does Kolbert’s book explain how humans have contributed to global warming and its effects on life on land but also ocean acidification and how life under the sea has changed over the years.

In our days, mining for resources is inevitable. The resources we need are valuable in everyday life. Such resources mined up are coal, copper, gold, silver, and sand. However, mining poses environmental risks that can degrade the quality of soil and water, which can end up effecting us humans if not taken care of and many of the damages are irreversible once they have occurred.

Franck and Brownstone define biological diversity as 'the variety and variability of living organisms and the biological communities in which they live' (36). Decades of progress in both the scientific and political arenas have advanced environmental legislation to protect biodiversity at not only the ecosystem level, but for specific species and genetic material as well. Research has shown the importance of every organism and their role in the global ecosystem, and legislation has gradually matured to protect not only species which may become endangered, but the habitats they need to survive as well. Growing consciousness surrounding environmental issues has enabled these protections to be

The mining industry has seen an explosive growth from the past few decades. It has played an important role in economic growth, infrastructure development and a raise in the living standard of the whole world. According to the Australian National Accounting System, the mining sector has made contributions of 9.8% GDP growth to the Australian economy between 2008 to 2009 (Australia Bureau of Statistics, 2012). However, the mining industry has caused many environmental issues such as adverse effect to air, land and water quality and continues to affect global environment as a whole. According to the World Health Organization, it evaluated that 25% of worldwide death are directly associated with environmental pollution (Blacksmith Institute, n.d). This essay will outline the environmental issue raised by the mining industry with pinpoint focus on the effects to air, water and land. It will also provide strategies for mining companies to improve the environmental conditions.