Chandler Montgomery Mr. Veitch
U.S. History; Period 4
12 June, 2015
To What Degree, Are Americans Responsible For The Destruction of Natural Habitats? Habitat loss poses the greatest threat to species. The world’s forests, swamps, plains, lakes and other natural habitats continue to disappear as they are harvested for human consumption and cleared to make way for agriculture, housing, roads, pipelines and other hallmarks of industrial development. A large contributor to these ecological problems faced today is the people who reside in the United States and Canada. Without a strong plan to limit these countries effect, important ecological habitats will continue to be lost. The northern bird population is an example of a population directly …show more content…
According to the National Wildlife Federation article, “Habitat Loss” by the NWF editorial board, pollutants such as untreated sewage, mining waste, acid rain, fertilizers and pesticides concentrate in rivers, lakes and wetlands and eventually end up in estuaries and the food web. Dams and other water diversions siphon off and disconnect waters, changing hydrology and water chemistry. During the dry season, the Colorado River has little to no water in it by the time it reaches the Sea of Cortez. From the same article it is stated that, the main drivers of habitat loss in the United States are: agriculture, land conversion for development, and water development (which was mentioned previously). Most of the habitat damage done by agriculture was done many years ago, by the settlers cutting down trees in order to establish farmlands. The conversion of lands that once housed animals now are lands occupied by housing …show more content…
Scientists are still coming to grips with the consequences that excessive atmospheric carbon dioxide and Earth's rapid warming are having on ecosystems. In accordance to statements made by a Nature World News article entitled “Frogs Are Vanishing Across North America, Climate Change And Habitat Loss To Blame” by James Foley, climate change is responsible for the near extinction of rare as well as common species of frogs. Foley reports a staggering statistic; “The International Union for the Conservation of Nature reports 32 percent of the world's amphibian species are threatened or extinct”. Various reports of amphibian disappearances range from Panama to Alaska, but on United States soil, most of the world’s declining amphibian population is occurring in the Midwest. A study presented by the University of Oregon in the year 2001 presented by Foley, took note of “[how] toad embryos appeared to be dying because of a chain of events that led to climate change”. “The climate change-induced increase in various lethal diseases affecting a wide range of organisms may explain the recurring theme of epidemic disease associated with many amphibian declines” said head researcher, Todd McNeil at the University of Oregon. It has become increasingly clear that if climate change may translate into species losses are to predicted, humanity must link global and local
U.S. History; Period 4
12 June, 2015
To What Degree, Are Americans Responsible For The Destruction of Natural Habitats? Habitat loss poses the greatest threat to species. The world’s forests, swamps, plains, lakes and other natural habitats continue to disappear as they are harvested for human consumption and cleared to make way for agriculture, housing, roads, pipelines and other hallmarks of industrial development. A large contributor to these ecological problems faced today is the people who reside in the United States and Canada. Without a strong plan to limit these countries effect, important ecological habitats will continue to be lost. The northern bird population is an example of a population directly …show more content…
According to the National Wildlife Federation article, “Habitat Loss” by the NWF editorial board, pollutants such as untreated sewage, mining waste, acid rain, fertilizers and pesticides concentrate in rivers, lakes and wetlands and eventually end up in estuaries and the food web. Dams and other water diversions siphon off and disconnect waters, changing hydrology and water chemistry. During the dry season, the Colorado River has little to no water in it by the time it reaches the Sea of Cortez. From the same article it is stated that, the main drivers of habitat loss in the United States are: agriculture, land conversion for development, and water development (which was mentioned previously). Most of the habitat damage done by agriculture was done many years ago, by the settlers cutting down trees in order to establish farmlands. The conversion of lands that once housed animals now are lands occupied by housing …show more content…
Scientists are still coming to grips with the consequences that excessive atmospheric carbon dioxide and Earth's rapid warming are having on ecosystems. In accordance to statements made by a Nature World News article entitled “Frogs Are Vanishing Across North America, Climate Change And Habitat Loss To Blame” by James Foley, climate change is responsible for the near extinction of rare as well as common species of frogs. Foley reports a staggering statistic; “The International Union for the Conservation of Nature reports 32 percent of the world's amphibian species are threatened or extinct”. Various reports of amphibian disappearances range from Panama to Alaska, but on United States soil, most of the world’s declining amphibian population is occurring in the Midwest. A study presented by the University of Oregon in the year 2001 presented by Foley, took note of “[how] toad embryos appeared to be dying because of a chain of events that led to climate change”. “The climate change-induced increase in various lethal diseases affecting a wide range of organisms may explain the recurring theme of epidemic disease associated with many amphibian declines” said head researcher, Todd McNeil at the University of Oregon. It has become increasingly clear that if climate change may translate into species losses are to predicted, humanity must link global and local