Species Extinction: A Pathway to the Sixth Extinction
We have all played a game of Jenga, each player removes one block per turn and either the tower will remain upright, or it will all tumble down. This Hasbro game is an exceptional example of the sixth extinction. Simply imagine each block as a different species. Humans are on top while other species like rhinos, polar bears and lions are on the bottom. If one is removed off of the bottom there is a possibility of all of them toppling over, including us. Mass extinction is defined as seventy-five percent of all species going extinct in a short period of time. Unfortunately for us, we are in the midst of our sixth extinction. However, this is not the liability of natural causes, but it is …show more content…
Over thousands of endangered species from all over the world are being kept on Texas ranches and being hunted out of extinction. As crazy as this sounds, it 's actually working. They charge people tons of money to go hunt these endangered species as trophies out on these ranches, but they only allow ten percent of the whole herd to be hunted. Then they use all the money back on the rest of the herd to take care of them, so the herd reproduces and the cycle starts again. This has caused huge controversy and several attempts have been made to prevent the hunting, but all attempts have failed (Can Hunting Endangered Animals save the Species? ). In another way, an article by Juliet Ford published by Thought Catalog states, “One of the biggest concerns we have in the world is protecting endangered species. It honestly troubles me how much money we spend on protecting animals that can’t find a way to protect themselves.”(Ford). We are spending a liberal amount of money preserving species that are not equipped to survive themselves. According to Ford, we don 't depend on endangered species, so why is it a big deal if they go extinct? In many ways this sounds correct, it seems insane that the death of an endangered species could affect humans directly. Therefore, the reason we are protecting these species is because humans only care about how cute the …show more content…
To illustrate, Earth’s population is growing swiftly while the flora population is decreasing briskly due to more human activity. Green plants and photosynthetic plankton in the sea are what provides us with oxygen and we need oxygen to survive (Marshall). That being the case, if all the photosynthetic species die then we are left with very little oxygen to support us and all of the other species that need oxygen. This effect will not be immediate for the reason that we still have plant life. However, Marine animals and the Big Five, five large animals that will have a huge impact on the food chain if they go extinct, could have way more tremendous effects than most realize. For instance, if a marine animal goes extinct then other species will feel the effect because the food they prey on is increasing and their predators will decrease causing a ripple. “climate change, which is hitting the oceans particularly hard by raising the water 's pH and dissolving the shells of many marine animals.” (Dell’Amore). This fact is far more shocking now that the consequences are clear and this is very dangerous to all of the species that we don 't realize we need to stabilize our ocean’s food chain and environment. On land, a group of five animals could cause a huge problem with their extinction. The big five includes lion, rhinos, elephants, leopard, and the African buffalo (Marot).
We have all played a game of Jenga, each player removes one block per turn and either the tower will remain upright, or it will all tumble down. This Hasbro game is an exceptional example of the sixth extinction. Simply imagine each block as a different species. Humans are on top while other species like rhinos, polar bears and lions are on the bottom. If one is removed off of the bottom there is a possibility of all of them toppling over, including us. Mass extinction is defined as seventy-five percent of all species going extinct in a short period of time. Unfortunately for us, we are in the midst of our sixth extinction. However, this is not the liability of natural causes, but it is …show more content…
Over thousands of endangered species from all over the world are being kept on Texas ranches and being hunted out of extinction. As crazy as this sounds, it 's actually working. They charge people tons of money to go hunt these endangered species as trophies out on these ranches, but they only allow ten percent of the whole herd to be hunted. Then they use all the money back on the rest of the herd to take care of them, so the herd reproduces and the cycle starts again. This has caused huge controversy and several attempts have been made to prevent the hunting, but all attempts have failed (Can Hunting Endangered Animals save the Species? ). In another way, an article by Juliet Ford published by Thought Catalog states, “One of the biggest concerns we have in the world is protecting endangered species. It honestly troubles me how much money we spend on protecting animals that can’t find a way to protect themselves.”(Ford). We are spending a liberal amount of money preserving species that are not equipped to survive themselves. According to Ford, we don 't depend on endangered species, so why is it a big deal if they go extinct? In many ways this sounds correct, it seems insane that the death of an endangered species could affect humans directly. Therefore, the reason we are protecting these species is because humans only care about how cute the …show more content…
To illustrate, Earth’s population is growing swiftly while the flora population is decreasing briskly due to more human activity. Green plants and photosynthetic plankton in the sea are what provides us with oxygen and we need oxygen to survive (Marshall). That being the case, if all the photosynthetic species die then we are left with very little oxygen to support us and all of the other species that need oxygen. This effect will not be immediate for the reason that we still have plant life. However, Marine animals and the Big Five, five large animals that will have a huge impact on the food chain if they go extinct, could have way more tremendous effects than most realize. For instance, if a marine animal goes extinct then other species will feel the effect because the food they prey on is increasing and their predators will decrease causing a ripple. “climate change, which is hitting the oceans particularly hard by raising the water 's pH and dissolving the shells of many marine animals.” (Dell’Amore). This fact is far more shocking now that the consequences are clear and this is very dangerous to all of the species that we don 't realize we need to stabilize our ocean’s food chain and environment. On land, a group of five animals could cause a huge problem with their extinction. The big five includes lion, rhinos, elephants, leopard, and the African buffalo (Marot).