Summary
Topic: 6th Mass Extinction
Issue
The issue is that Earth might enter a sixth mass extinction. The rates of species becoming extinct match those of a mass extinction. Presently, we are losing three species per hour. Previous mass extinctions were caused by nature, but this one is caused by us, humans. There are many things were doing that are causing animals to die. Global Warming, Pollution, Habitat Loss ( like the cutting down of rain forests), and Oil Drilling, like up in the Arctic where Polar Bears are dying because of the oil.
One of the reasons animals are going extinct is because of habitat loss. People want the land, but the animals need it because it is their home. As people pollute and destroy the land, resources disappear and the habitat won't be able to support animal life. Some of the reasons for habitat loss are agriculture, land conversion for development, and water development. Another reason for habitat loss is overexploitation. This is the overuse of animal and plant species to get things like food, clothing, pets, and hunting for sport.
- One species becoming endangered is Chinook Salmon in the Klamath River. The river does not have enough water for the salmon to travel upstream and spawn. - Organizations like the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation want to put water into the rivers.
- 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 lots of water from the Klamath be used for watering crops would be devastating for the Chinook Salmon.
Another reason is pollution and Global Warming. By driving our cars and putting out smog and exhaust from our factories, we are warming the Earth and causing the ice in the Poles and Antarctica to melt. Seven of the top 10 warmest years on record occurred after 1998 and 2012 was the warmest year on record. If we don’t get hold of Global Warming, animals will die.
Polar bears are in serious danger of going extinct due to global warming and Oil Drilling. The bears were the first vertebrate species to be listed by the U.S. Endangered Species Act as threatened by extinction primarily because of global warming. This listing happened in 2008 because of the ongoing loss of critical habitat for polar bears, the arctic sea ice on which they live and depend to hunt their almost exclusive prey, seals.
Topic: 6th Mass Extinction
Issue
The issue is that Earth might enter a sixth mass extinction. The rates of species becoming extinct match those of a mass extinction. Presently, we are losing three species per hour. Previous mass extinctions were caused by nature, but this one is caused by us, humans. There are many things were doing that are causing animals to die. Global Warming, Pollution, Habitat Loss ( like the cutting down of rain forests), and Oil Drilling, like up in the Arctic where Polar Bears are dying because of the oil.
One of the reasons animals are going extinct is because of habitat loss. People want the land, but the animals need it because it is their home. As people pollute and destroy the land, resources disappear and the habitat won't be able to support animal life. Some of the reasons for habitat loss are agriculture, land conversion for development, and water development. Another reason for habitat loss is overexploitation. This is the overuse of animal and plant species to get things like food, clothing, pets, and hunting for sport.
- One species becoming endangered is Chinook Salmon in the Klamath River. The river does not have enough water for the salmon to travel upstream and spawn. - Organizations like the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation want to put water into the rivers.
- 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 lots of water from the Klamath be used for watering crops would be devastating for the Chinook Salmon.
Another reason is pollution and Global Warming. By driving our cars and putting out smog and exhaust from our factories, we are warming the Earth and causing the ice in the Poles and Antarctica to melt. Seven of the top 10 warmest years on record occurred after 1998 and 2012 was the warmest year on record. If we don’t get hold of Global Warming, animals will die.
Polar bears are in serious danger of going extinct due to global warming and Oil Drilling. The bears were the first vertebrate species to be listed by the U.S. Endangered Species Act as threatened by extinction primarily because of global warming. This listing happened in 2008 because of the ongoing loss of critical habitat for polar bears, the arctic sea ice on which they live and depend to hunt their almost exclusive prey, seals.