Loss Of Species Research Paper

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In this day and age it is not as commonly known as it should be that, as a species, humans are increasingly forcing other species out of their habitats and killing them off. This point is made very clear by an alarming statistic Hawken states: “At the present rate of extinction … we may lose 20 percent of all the species on the planet within the next twenty to forty years … The loss of evolutionary potential is being called the “death of birth.”” (Hawken, 29). “Because resource supplies are declining, we as a species are exceeding our “carrying capacity” – the uppermost limit on the number of species an ecosystem or habitat can sustain, given the supply and availability of nutrients.” (24). What this means is that if we do not act against the …show more content…
In some societies women and children are responsible for performing chores out in the open and when sources of water and fuel are disrupted by climatic conditions, they are forced to travel long distances to secure these basic goods. Some women make a living in fishing or agriculture and extreme weather events can deplete them of food and income. Women and children are also more exposed to certain indoor household risks, such as air pollution from the use of solid fuel, a leading cause of respiratory illness. (4) Soil and water pollution and soil depletion from unsustainable farming practices exacerbate environmental degradation. This can lead to food insecurity and malnutrition, an underlying cause of poor health and poverty, particularly among women and children.” (Presern). Therefore improving environmental well-being would also improve the living standards of many people. This is emphasized in an article entitled The Millennium Project: the positive health implications of improved environmental sustainability. “Ensuring environmental sustainability is essential to achieving all the Millennium Development Goals. Longterm solutions to problems of drinking-water shortages, hunger, poverty, gender inequality, emerging and reemerging infectious diseases, maternal and childhood health, extreme local weather and global climate changes, and conflicts over natural resources need systematic strategies to achieve environmental sustainability.” (Melnick, D. J., et al.) Unless environmental sustainability is achieved, much of the world’s population will go without basic human rights: to food, to water, to

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