Oral Presentation

Front 1

“When we lose an animalspecies to extinction, we lose a part of our family.” “To survive today, otheranimals must endure global warming, pollution, and fewer habitats. Moretragically, they must endure the silence of human hearts.” “Each and every animalon Earth has as much right to be here as you and me."

Back 1

These are merely a fewquotes from Anthony Douglas Williams, author of ‘Inside the Divine Pattern’, andthey are all true. It is because of humans that we lose species such as theWest African Black Rhinoceros, the Tasmanian Tiger, and thousands more. It isbecause of us that they are gone forever,and never coming back.

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It is because of humans that the fauna onour planet must adapt to the sudden environmental changes that we thrust uponthem; if they’re lucky enough to survive the change. It is because of humansthat this loss is such a serious issue. It is because of me. And it is becauseof you.

Back 2

Derived from a thoroughanalysis of thousands of records from the last two million years, we can expectto lose two species for every 10,000 present every 100 years. From the files ofthe International Union for Conservation of Nature, 477 species have becomeextinct in the last 100 years.

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At a normal rate, ninewould be expected. Nine. We are 468 species ahead of the natural extinctionrate. In 100 years, we have killed off the equivalent to 10,000 years under a usualrate. Go us, right? No. We are losing species much more rapidly now than in the last two million years and we can't expect that this won't have consequences on the Earth.

Back 3

All species are essential tomaintain our ecosystem services; the benefits we get from the proper functionof nature (like the gases in the atmosphere, the quality and quantity of water,soil fertilisation, pollination, etc.) We need to fix this. Weneed to curb human population growth, social inequalities and induce morenatural resources.

Front 4

We need to reduce habitatloss, overfishing and overhunting, pollution, everything that is endangeringthe species we need to survive. We, as humans, are the only race that has thecapability to save all endangered animals. Paradoxically, saving them is theonly way to save humanity.

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More than 90% of the Earth’sorganisms are extinct. As newer species evolve, older species are bound to fadeaway. Mainly, animals are goingextinct because of the effects we are having on the environment.

Front 5

There are three majorfactors of extinction by humans that include the increased global concentrationof greenhouse gases, affecting the global climate; oceanic devastation, such asthrough overfishing and contamination; and the modification and destruction ofvast tracts of land and river systems around the world to meet solelyhuman-centred ends.

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Other human related causesinclude deforestation, hunting, pollution, the introduction in various regionsof non-native species, and the widespread transmission of infectious diseases.

Front 6

The abundance of extinction have been given the term the “Anthropocene extinction”, which has been derived from the word anthropogenic, meaning to be caused by humans. We havedone this to another species. What give us the right to look down on them, andthink them inferior?

Back 6

In The Future of Life, which was published in 2002, E.O Wilson ofHarvard calculated that, if the current rate of human disruption of thebiosphere continues, one-half of the Earth’s higher lifeforms will be extinctby 2100. Mark Williams, with the University of Leicester, says:

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“We have to recognise thatour impact is game-changing on this planet, that we are all responsible, and thatwe have to become stewards of nature – as a part of it, rather than behavinglike children rampaging through a sweetshop.”

Back 7

The team of geologists andbiologists say that our current extinction crisis is unique in Earth’s historydue to something called the technosphere. Peter Haff defines that technosphereas “the global, energy consuming techno-social system that is comprised ofhumans, technological artefacts,

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and technological systems, together with the links, protocols and information that bind all these parts together.” Basically, the vast,sprawling combination of humanity and its technology.

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There have been five massextinctions on this planet so far. Ordovician-Silurian,Late Devonian, Permian, Triassic-Jurassic andthe Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinction.Scientists think evidence indicates a sixth mass extinction is under way,and this time we are to blame.

Front 9

By 2100, human activitiessuch as pollution, land clearing, and overfishing may have driven more thanhalf the world’s marine and land species to extinction. While previous massextinctions were due to natural environmental causes, evidence shows thatwherever on Earth we have migrated, wherever we go,

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species have gone extinct, and the growth of our population is the main cause for this extinction. Some say humans were notresponsible for the extinction of the big animals of prehistoric Australia.Clive Trueman from the University of Portsmouth said that:

Front 10

“the idea was that humansgot to the Australian continent and immediately modified the environment andphysically hunted these large animals to extinction within 1,000 or a fewthousand years.” .” Dr Trueman said thatconcentrating on finding full skeletons meant that younger bones have

Back 10

not been taken fully into account, and their provided evidence proved that they co-existed with humans for at least 15,000 years." Also that climate may haveplayed a bigger role than previously thought, as “their extinction date also coincideswith the global ice age”. While these are very convincing points, theextinctions that he is talking about are in the

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past. This sixth extinction ishappening right here, right now. In the present. All the statistics and factsgo together to prove one single fact: humans are the result for the sixth massextinction on this planet. Us. It has already been statedthat those past five mass extinctions were all due to changes in the environment,and this sixth extinction, we are

Back 11

the sole reason for its occurrence. It is because of things that we do as anation, as a race, that drives these species to extinction. Deforestation. Pollution.Destruction of environments and therefore habitats. All for our benefit. Yet wenever consider the consequences. If we don't fix it… Well, they always say youdon’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.