EN1320

Final Research Paper

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The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it. (Gen. 2:15, Revised Standard Version) In the beginning man was given the responsibility for keeping the earth. As good care takers it’s our responsibility to ensure the survival of all the animals and plants on earth. The earth is made up of elements, and within those elements are the countless numbers of species, each interwoven within the fabric of life itself. The effects of man on the environment have a negative reaction to all other species. Studies of earth’s history show mass extinction events. Scientist project we are living within such an event. The world is heading toward imminent mass species extinction. A healthy earth may not be possible due to the irreversible effect brought on my man. Endangered plants and animals face the risk of becoming extinct, disappearing completely from the world of living things. Human survival has had such an effect on all other species around them. Hunting, fishing, or gathering may have reduced the populations of many species to levels too low for the species to survive, especially when there is a profitable trade in goods made from wild animals and plants. (Current Issues, 2010) The Earth should be big enough of all plants and animals to thrive but according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, humans are using about half the available land. (Wilson, 2012) The American Association for the Advancement of Sciences also sites that, there were just a few thousand humans on Earth 200,000 years ago. (Whitty, 2008) Around 1800, right about the time of the industrial revolution, the Earth’s population was 1 billion. When a change so big happens over such a short period of time the ecosystem is overwhelmed and may not catch up to normal levels. Scientists have identified five cataclysmic extinction events on Earth in the past 439 million years, each wiping out 50 to 95 percent of the planet’s living species. (Whitty, 2008) Taking a walk in a desert in the Midwest United States, one may stumble across a prehistoric dinosaur bone. Paleontologists make a living on the finds in such places and have well documented records of animals and plants that are now extinct. The term extinction is not a new concept. Scientists believe that the normal extinction rate estimated at about one species per million species per year, with new species replacing the lost in a sustainable fashion. (Whitty, 2008) Palaeobiologists at the University of California at Berkeley study the state of biodiversity today. Recent findings shows in the last five centuries, at least 80 out of 5,570 mammal species have become extinct. “It looks like modern extinction rates resemble mass extinction rates, even after setting a high bar for defining ‘mass extinction,” said researcher Anthony Bamosky (Miller, 2013) A poll by the American Museum of Natural history finds that 7 in 10 biologists believe that mass extinction poses a colossal threat to human existence. (Whitty, 2008) It is a very human idea to think that we are the rulers of the Earth and nothing can touch us. In the beginning, man had just as much to fear as the next species. The fabric of life is woven together in such a way that all species depend on one another is some way. Biodiversity is defined as the sum of an area’s genes, species, and ecosystems. (Whitty, 2008) Mankind depends on natural resources to survive. The ways of the old pioneers seem to be a memory of a distant past. Most early settlers died because they could not adapt to the world around them. With that being said what is going to happen when the world around us changes to fast for adaptation. The difference between past extinctions and the one most scientist agree is happening today is the cause. Previous extinctions came about because of factors that the life on Earth had little control over. But most of the research suggests that an ongoing mass extinction taking place now would have its roots in human activity. (Wilson, 2012) The growth of the human population and the destruction of natural habitats and resources is the downfall of mankind. Imagine a snow ball rolling down a hill, collecting snow, and getting bigger and bigger until it’s too big to handle. In this analogy the snow ball would represent the effects of man on the environment. The earth has an answer for such a problem that gets too big to handle, and it’s called the extinction event.
The world is heading toward imminent mass species extinction. The effects of mankind on a fragile ecosystem have devastated the biodiversity of the earth. Studies have shown that mass species extinction have happened in the past. The current rate of human population and the destruction of natural habitats and resources have caused countless species to vanish from existence. As the care takers of earth we are facing an extinction event that not only affects our existence but the coexistence of every plant and animal species on earth.

References
"Endangered Species." Current Issues: Macmillan Social Science Library. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 23 July 2013.
"Half of Earth's Species Could Be Extinct by the End of the Century 21ewxin a Sixth Mass Extinction Event." Biodiversity. Ed. Debra A. Miller. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Current Controversies. Rpt. from "World's Sixth Mass Extinction May Be Underway—Study." Independent 7 Mar. 2011. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 23 July 2013.
Whitty, Julia. "Mass Species Extinction Is Imminent." Endangered Species. Ed. Viqi Wagner. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Gone." Mother Jones 34 (May-June 2007): 36-88. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 23 July 2013.
Wilson, Tracy V. "Numerous Signs Point to Mass Extinctions." Are Mass Extinctions
Inevitable? Ed. Noah Berlatsky. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. from "Top 10 Signs We Might Be Experiencing a Modern-Day Mass Extinction." Ani mal Planet. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 23 July 2013.