Easter Island Book Report

When discovering the world as a child, I always just assumed that all the plants and animals that I saw had always been here. Even today it is hard to comprehend how different plants and animals have migrated across the world. Each plant and animal affects the delicate environmental structure we learned about as children. Even the circle of life is more complicated as I get older. That 's why learning about other cultures and environments is detrimental to our growth as individuals. In this unit I have learned more about the devastating impacts nonnative species have on foreign environments. Before learning more about the destruction of Easter Island, I was unaware of the significant impact the introduction of the rat had on the island. I find it very interesting how a creature so tiny in stature, can have such devastating impacts. We see in history how the rat has brought disease over many miles and have heard stories of the devastating impacts it had on various countries. I had a very limited understanding of how nonnative species could have such negative impacts on a country. Furthermore I did not …show more content…
Before reading the book by Troost, my opinion on similar countries was very poor. I automatically assumed that they had lower standards. After learning more, my opinion on similar countries has changed. Kiribati is a historic and beautiful place, but it has faced its share of devastating circumstances as well. When comprehending the environmental issues that have struck the islands, it is an understatement that the low sea levels have affected their environment. “The majority of the atolls is barely more than six meters above sea level and surrounded by barrier reefs”(Kiribati For Travellers, 2014). This has cause massive flooding in various parts of the islands. A slight increase in precipitation usually does not affect us in the United States, but it has a dramatic affect on Kiribati and its