Conserving?

People might think we are on our way to conserving certain items in the environment, but what most people miss is that animals species are dying off. Habitat destruction, poaching, and manipulation of protection laws is causing many animals to die off. In 20 years it is quite possible for 50% of the animals we know today to have disappeared from the earth. The people that get blamed for not caring usually are the large corporations that use areas they shouldn't. In order for our world to take a step in advancing our help for animals, we must first stop the building are start rebuilding the habitats.

Tiger Treatments

I would of never thought that Tigers would used for treatments in Asia. Tigers have gone down by 95% and there is an estimate of being between 5000 and 7500 Tigers left in the world. The Bali, Caspian, and Javan Tigers have already been classified as extinct and more types are on their way. The reason they have been disappearing in Asia is because Tiger bone is in high demand for Chinese medication. I think the Chinese need to stick to other treatments and leave the Tigers alone because in 25 years people may not even know what a Tiger was.

Drop a 0

The kings of the jungles, lions, happen to be dwindling in their numbers. In the 1980s, there were 200,000 lions and now there are only 20,000 in Africa. The reason in such a decline is because of the sport and trophy hunting. Also since tourism has not remained a huge factor in communities, there is not need to keep the lions alive for the random tourists that happen to show every few weeks now. I do not believe this gives poachers and hunters the right to start killing the animals. In order to stop this I think that tourists need to start to want to see these great animals again.

AIDS Animals

I never would of thought that the AIDS virus came from a chimpanzee. In 1999, scientists released a statement saying the virus was coming from a rare type of chimpanzee that is immune to the virus. The only problem is that the forests and habitats where this chimpanzee lives is being destroyed and the area is being overrun with lodging companies. So with the chimpanzee species slowing declining, the chance for the cure for AIDS is slowing slipping away.

Vultures Vanishing?

Who would of thought that the bird that feeds on the dead would be disappearing? In the 1980s, Vultures used to be the largest abundance of birds of prey in the world. Now they happen to be dying off. The population has crashed by almost 97% in the past twelve years. The reason the birds have been dying off so quickly is that cows have been given an anti-inflammatory medicine to help with problems. When the cow dies, the vulture starts to eat the cow and the medicine just happens to be a huge poison for the birds and causes kidney failure. I don't understand how people have not made this connection until now. If these birds are going to have a chance, then society needs to step up its game.

Poaching the Pretty

I happen to find Rhinos very amusing in a weird way. The only problem is I doubt I will ever be able to see any in my life. The reason is because all types of Rhinos have been put on the endangered species lists. Why? Well people in Africa and other parts of the world happen to find the horns of a Rhino very valuable and decide to kill the animal just to make a quick profit. I find this extremely awful and that only 18000 Rhinos are left in Africa. The Rhino population used to be over 50000 20 years ago, then the horns started to sell on the black market. I think that in order to preserve the Rhino population Africa nations need to step in and start protecting the environment.

Amphibians? The Health Meter?

As shown in the past, amphibians usually survive depending on how well the economy is doing. When nature is healthy, the amphibians are usually flourishing in the wild. When the economy is dying, the amphibians in areas seem to die off also. As the world moves on, amphibians are dying off. Is this a sign that our world is killing many of its species and we may be suffering in the years to come? I believe that its true. If amphibians have been the meters for how well our animals and wildlife are doing in the past, then obviously why not take them as the health meter now. If our generation wants to keep the species it has now, things must change.

Washed Up Whales

I happen to be very intrigued by all the marine and army ads that are put into the media. But I found out recently that a sector of the defense of the United States, the Navy, is killing whales. They navy has been testing sonar systems with their submarines, and the 235bD sounds are killing and maiming the whales near Hawaii. I think that if society wants to actually act on saving dying species of animals, they need to realize that even the government is hurting animals. If the whales are going to have any chance at all, the government needs to realize that not all programs they are doing are friendly to animals.

Acid Rain

Acid rain usually has a pH level of .6 but with pollution, weather patterns or elevated topography acid rain can reach 4.2. In the Adirondack Mountains, in New York, the pH of the lake became so acidic that fish did not survive. As a result, the animals of area also dispersed. Acid rain is caused by NO2 and SO2 emissions from cars and factories. It can come in the form of rain, snow, fog, or dew. In the mountains, areas with heavy fog, are greatly affected by acid rain. Trees die from the high acidity and animals suffer as well. In Indiana, heavy pollution blows east and also adds to acid rain. However because Indiana has heavy limestone deposits we don't feel the full affects of it. The calcium carbonate in limestone acts as a buffer and neutralizes the pH of acid rain. If acid rain is every going to stop, pollution must also slow down.

Over Fishing

Overfishing has to be one of the least thought of problems in the world today. Fishermen continue to raid the seas and lakes of fish so they can profit as much as they can. Trawling is one of the huge problems that affects many habitats and causes many fish to go extinct. When huge boats are pulling nets behind them and scraping the ocean floors, they are destroying the habitats. One thing that totally disturbs me is that usually only one third of the catch in the trawler boats is processed. Another problem is that fishermen don't slow down their fishing in order to keep their usual catch alive. If fishermen would realize that if they only caught so many fish each year, then they could have the fish population thrive. In the end though, they will not realize this until their fish populations are dead.

Deforestation

One thing that has always bothered me is deforestation. After the video in class about deforestation, I realized that many species are being destroyed. I believe that the human population needs to leave the forests untouched because if we continue to cut down trees and to destroy habitats, people one hundred years from now won't even realize how many species of frogs or fish or birds there were. Deforestation is causing the world to change. There have been plenty of frog species that were extinct before the human population knew about them. I just haven't understood why humans haven't found other resources to prevent deforestation. If our civilization would recycle better we might have a better chance on keeping certain species alive. But until then, deforestation will continue to destroy habitats.

Invasive Species

One issue that has always struck me is invasive species. There are many invasive species out there and the all have a huge impact on the environment. The biggest impact that the invasive species have on habitats is that they destroy food chains. For instance there was a fish that brought into the great lakes that literally started to kill fish. They would attach to the side of a fish and suck on it until the fish died. Another issue was the zebra mussels that were brought into areas through ballast water. With this problem the mussels started to destroy the bottom part of the food chain and then everything above the lower levels started to suffer. I believe that if people are going to succeed with their daily lives, fishermen for instance, they need to understand the importance of keeping the natural habitat. Invasive species kill the food webs and if habitats aren't kept the way they are, and fishermen are using rusty crayfish as bait, then types of fish and other organisms that live in the water will die. 

Water Sources Destroyed by Fertilizer

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/PTLK/1620.html

In the article above, it discusses how fertilizer is a source of pollution in water. It discussed how fertilizer can't pollute water if it is spread properly. If it isn't overused then when the fertilizer particles will attach to the soil, and it cannot be harmful to water. If there happens to be soil erosion though then the water can be pollution. Another cause is just runoff from the roads and crop dusting is also another cause of pollution. I think that in order for people to reduce the amount of contaminated water they have to underuse fertilizer so they don't take a chance of runoff and overuse of fertilizer. In the end though, people will always continue to think the more the fertilizer the better the lawn will look but they are actually wrong. Only so much fertilizer can soak into the ground.

Prevention over Pick up

Obviously one key element to nature conservation is prevention rather than pick up. I've started to realize that the big car companies have very little with the oil issue. Our world is running out of oil yet the car companies do not fully switch over their technology to another source of fuel. There are plenty of other fuel sources like electricity or hydrogen. Even water is a possibility. The car company definitely has the technology and money to find new sources. They just choose not to take the time to change all their vehicles because they are making enough money as it is. I believe that if we want to have a chance at stopping global warming then we have to act on the car companies. There needs to be a law about how many oil dependent cars produced each year. If there is a law on this then the car companies will be forced to create other types of cars that run on different types of technology. In the end though if things aren't changed, our coastal wetlands and natural habitats will be demolished by global warming.

Backyard Nature Conservation

http://wildlifepreservation.suite101.com/article.cfm/backyard_nature_conservation

In this article they talk about how our communities are being destroyed. Development is destroying the natural habitats of animals. One problem that has arisen is that bees pollinate over 800 different types of plants that humans use for consumption. So with the wild life areas being taken away the bees have no place to build nests. I believe that in order for the bees to remain alive we have to stop development in areas that have established habitats. People have to realize that if we continue to grow and spread across the country, we will destroy natural resources that we take for granted. No one realizes that the Honeybees are a key to creating many food sources. If the plants cannot receive pollination then our fields and crops will soon be destroyed.