Points of View
Lumber and Oil Companies:
Rainforests used to cover 14% of the world, now they only cover 6%. Lumber Companies are destroying our rainforests just to build houses and make paper. The rainforests will be gone in less than 40 years if this continues. Oil Companies are drilling oil from the Arctic Ice. They are causing Habitat Loss for Polar Bears and Arctic Seals. Polar Bears are now on the endangered species list.
Farmers:
Farmers are needing a lot of water, causing salmon to die. Organizations like the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation want to put water into the rivers, but other people like farmers want the water from the Klamath to irrigate their crops. The water supply for farmers this year is small because of the rain shortages, but the salmon really need water in the rivers. Letting the lots of water from the Klamath be used for watering crops would be devastating for the Chinook Salmon. Farmers are also killing Wolves and other predators to protect their cows. Wolves used to roam all the way from Mexico to Canada and all through the United States, but now they only live in a few places like Yellowstone National Park.
Zoo’s:
Zoo’s are made to make money. Safest place for an animal is its natural habitat – not a zoo. Zoo’s say “ we are just trying to make a safe place for the animals. The word "zoo" was created in the 1840s by the London Zoo. Which was first called itself a "zoological garden," but the idea of holding animals in public viewing cells dates back to 3500 B.C. in Egypt. Ancient Rome collected exotic animals, too, although they were often forced to fight each other (or humans). Zoos remained more like prisons than parks well into the 1900s, with animals still spending most of their lives in small cages. As decades passed and the concept of animal rights gained traction, zoos began building more naturalistic enclosures.
Lumber and Oil Companies:
Rainforests used to cover 14% of the world, now they only cover 6%. Lumber Companies are destroying our rainforests just to build houses and make paper. The rainforests will be gone in less than 40 years if this continues. Oil Companies are drilling oil from the Arctic Ice. They are causing Habitat Loss for Polar Bears and Arctic Seals. Polar Bears are now on the endangered species list.
Farmers:
Farmers are needing a lot of water, causing salmon to die. Organizations like the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation want to put water into the rivers, but other people like farmers want the water from the Klamath to irrigate their crops. The water supply for farmers this year is small because of the rain shortages, but the salmon really need water in the rivers. Letting the lots of water from the Klamath be used for watering crops would be devastating for the Chinook Salmon. Farmers are also killing Wolves and other predators to protect their cows. Wolves used to roam all the way from Mexico to Canada and all through the United States, but now they only live in a few places like Yellowstone National Park.
Zoo’s:
Zoo’s are made to make money. Safest place for an animal is its natural habitat – not a zoo. Zoo’s say “ we are just trying to make a safe place for the animals. The word "zoo" was created in the 1840s by the London Zoo. Which was first called itself a "zoological garden," but the idea of holding animals in public viewing cells dates back to 3500 B.C. in Egypt. Ancient Rome collected exotic animals, too, although they were often forced to fight each other (or humans). Zoos remained more like prisons than parks well into the 1900s, with animals still spending most of their lives in small cages. As decades passed and the concept of animal rights gained traction, zoos began building more naturalistic enclosures.
L. R. - Like a lot of people, I love animals. But what animals will there be left to love if we lose three species every hour?(1) We are entering the sixth mass extinction, and unlike the previous five, this one is caused by us, the humans. And we, the humans need to become aware of how serious of a situation we are in. Most people have absolutely no knowledge on the mass extinction. I didn't even know about it before we started this project. But now, I realize how bad it is. The idea of people being responsible for so many species going extinct? Rediculous. We live on Earth along with so many other species, and we cannot just think about ourselves. Animals and plants should be able to thrive, not fight to survive. The Earth supports us and gives us natural resources like food, water, oil, building materials, and lots more. All we are doing is polluting it and creating global warming. If animals die off, then some ecosystems will collapse, and this will affect people because we rely on ecosystems for many important resources(2). We should use the resources to help endangered species because we do not want to be responsible for a mass extinction.(3)
Footnotes
(1) The Sixth Extinction by Niles Eldredge
(2). Protecting Many Species To Help Our Own by Richard Pearson
(3). World's Sixth Extinction May Be Underway by AFP
E. G. - My opinion on Mass Extinction is it's an unnecessary thing. It's very sad and depressing to see all these animals die. Animals were here before us, and if we're going to hurt them in any way, we shouldn't be able to live here. We're killing off plants and animals which are part of our environment. Our behavior has to change, or we won't be able to survive. Since it's us humans that are causing this Sixth Mass Extinction we are the ones that are going to have to make a change. The gases, smog, anything that pollutes is our fault. We have to take responsibility and help to save all these animals that we hurt. We affected not only our habitat, but animals too. We are losing 10 to 100 species per year. Extinction of animals has been going off the charts because of how we've been treating our Earth. About 30 to 50% of animals are heading towards extinction by mid-century. 99% of extinction is caused by human activity.
E. B. - My Opinion about the mass extinction is that we should change something now. The reason the animals are going extinct is because of humans. The reason polar bears are going extinct is because the gases we are using are going into our air and water which is melting the polar ice caps. Since the polar ice caps are melting it is getting harder and harder to find food. Since the polar ice caps are melting our water levels are rising which is causing floods. We are also killing animals, which is causing the animals who eat those animals to eat other animals food. We are messing with the food which is causing some animals to go extinct and is causing other animals to grow in their population. What really made me think about the topic was the fact that when my kids are adults there might not be any animals left. “Scientists estimate we’re now losing species at 1,000 to 10,000 times the background rate, with literally dozens going extinct every day . It could be a scary future indeed, with as many as 30 to 50 percent of all species possibly heading toward extinction by mid-century” -Center for biological diversity.
A. A. - In my opinion people need to know more about the 6th Mass Extinction. It is important that people know about the mass extinction because if they do, we could change things. If animals keep dying the food chain will get messed up and many animals, including us will starve. Polar bears, wolves, big cats, and many other animals are endangered and soon they will be extinct. The worst part is, humans are causing it. All of the other mass extinctions are natural. But we can control this one. If people try we can stop the Mass Extinctinction.
J. K. - I feel like mass extinction is depressing and sad, because almost every hour 3 species go extinct, so that would be 72 a day!
Footnotes
(1) The Sixth Extinction by Niles Eldredge
(2). Protecting Many Species To Help Our Own by Richard Pearson
(3). World's Sixth Extinction May Be Underway by AFP
E. G. - My opinion on Mass Extinction is it's an unnecessary thing. It's very sad and depressing to see all these animals die. Animals were here before us, and if we're going to hurt them in any way, we shouldn't be able to live here. We're killing off plants and animals which are part of our environment. Our behavior has to change, or we won't be able to survive. Since it's us humans that are causing this Sixth Mass Extinction we are the ones that are going to have to make a change. The gases, smog, anything that pollutes is our fault. We have to take responsibility and help to save all these animals that we hurt. We affected not only our habitat, but animals too. We are losing 10 to 100 species per year. Extinction of animals has been going off the charts because of how we've been treating our Earth. About 30 to 50% of animals are heading towards extinction by mid-century. 99% of extinction is caused by human activity.
E. B. - My Opinion about the mass extinction is that we should change something now. The reason the animals are going extinct is because of humans. The reason polar bears are going extinct is because the gases we are using are going into our air and water which is melting the polar ice caps. Since the polar ice caps are melting it is getting harder and harder to find food. Since the polar ice caps are melting our water levels are rising which is causing floods. We are also killing animals, which is causing the animals who eat those animals to eat other animals food. We are messing with the food which is causing some animals to go extinct and is causing other animals to grow in their population. What really made me think about the topic was the fact that when my kids are adults there might not be any animals left. “Scientists estimate we’re now losing species at 1,000 to 10,000 times the background rate, with literally dozens going extinct every day . It could be a scary future indeed, with as many as 30 to 50 percent of all species possibly heading toward extinction by mid-century” -Center for biological diversity.
A. A. - In my opinion people need to know more about the 6th Mass Extinction. It is important that people know about the mass extinction because if they do, we could change things. If animals keep dying the food chain will get messed up and many animals, including us will starve. Polar bears, wolves, big cats, and many other animals are endangered and soon they will be extinct. The worst part is, humans are causing it. All of the other mass extinctions are natural. But we can control this one. If people try we can stop the Mass Extinctinction.
J. K. - I feel like mass extinction is depressing and sad, because almost every hour 3 species go extinct, so that would be 72 a day!