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Humans’ effect on species at risk. Aidan Makayla Taylor Myles. Risk Levels. Extinct— No longer found on any reign of the planet Extirpated— No longer found in a particular area where they once lived Endangered— Numbers are low and they are in danger of going extinct
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Humans’ effect on species at risk Aidan Makayla Taylor Myles
Risk Levels • Extinct—No longer found on any reign of the planet • Extirpated—No longer found in a particular area where they once lived • Endangered—Numbers are low and they are in danger of going extinct • Threatened—Numbers are decreasing and there’s a possibility of them becoming endangered • Vulnerable—Numbers are getting low, if things keep up the way they are they have potential to become endangered
Extinct Animals • Dawson’s Caribou • Sea Mink • Great Auk
ENDANGERED ANIMALS • Eastern Cougar • Sea Otter • Blue Racer Snake
EXTIRPATED ANIMALS • Black Footed Ferret • Walrus • Great Prairie Chicken
Threatened animals • Wood Bison • Pacific Water Shrew • Yellow Breasted Chat
Vulnerable • Grey Fox • Wolverine • Green Sturgeon
Atlantic salmon • Atlantic salmon populations in southern North American range have dropped to critically low levels since 1990, and ASF together with its regional councils are involved with returning such critically endangered populations to health, where possible
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmRModmCcPY • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYwjH1P_upk
Technology • Negative impacts on the environment due to the advancement / use of technology are viewed as unavoidable for multiple reasons. • The first of these reasons is that Nature has evolved alongside humans, and that any technology trying to “improve” nature for humans benefit is far more likely to harm nature. The phrase “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it” applies here. • Next, the conservation of mass principle and the first law of thermodynamics state that whenever material resources or energy are moved or manipulated by technology, environmental impact is unavoidable. • Lastly, the 2nd law of Thermodynamics states that for humanity to create "order" (buildings, transportation, services) or "civilization", the opposite effect(resource loss/destruction, increased disorder) must happen to the environment.
Fishing’s impact on the environment • The impacts on the environment from fishing are basically the fish or rather the lack of fish. • These numbers stem from overfishing (which is defined by depleting fish stocks to an unacceptable level due to catching too many fish and forcing the population to decline) and Water Acidification (the water is becoming acidified, making it hard for marine life to grow shells.Many key species and food sources for other fish like Plankton need to grow shells to survive. This is causing a "crack" in the food web, and so the global rate of fish production fluctuates. • Changing rainfall patterns and water scarcity due to global warming also impact river and lake fish populations.
Topsoil Loss • In the past 150 years or so, farming technology has been advancing quickly, specifically tools used for plowing land. • Currently, Topsoil is lowering a few inches per decade. • In the U.S, 90% of cropland is losing topsoil at a rate faster than it is being formed. • Globally, 1/3rd of arable land has been lost to erosion.
Meat industry • Livestock production uses lots of water, land and fossil fuels. The livestock industry is one of the top contributors to environmental degradation in the world, and the methods used to raise this livestock contributes heavily to: • Air/Water Pollution • Land Degradation • Climate Change • Impending/Continuing loss of Biodiversity • The livestock industry causes an estimated 18% of greenhouse gas emissions, but 2 world-watch researchers estimated a 51% minimum back in 2009.
Irrigation / Water Displacement • An irrigation scheme often draws water from the river and distributes it over the irrigated area. As a result, • Downstream river discharge (water flow)is lowered. • Evaporation is increased • The level of the Water Table rises. • The effects on soil and water quality are indirect and complex.
energy • The most common method of creating energy, the burning of fossil fuels, causes greenhouse gases to release. • Very little is being done worldwide to change greenhouse emissions, or at least change is being made very slowly. • The second biggest contributor to greenhouse gases is Deforestation, which lowers the number of oxygen recycling trees. • • The environmental impact of nuclear power results from released radioisotopes, which pose a health danger to human populations, animals and plants as radioactive particles enter organisms through various transmission routes. • Slide 9 Deforestation Unsustainable firewood harvesting can lead to loss of biodiversity and erosion due to loss of forest cover.
Pollution • The definition of pollute simply means to contaminate and make something impure. In the last 100 years especially, humans have polluted the worlds waters in particular by disposing different forms of waste into it such as trash, sewage, oil and chemicals to name a few and as the population of humans continues to grow, so does the amount of pollution and it will continue to affect the health of the wildlife, ecosystems and perhaps your family.
Water pollution • Water pollution is a major issue that stretches globally and has a negative impact on plants and organisms and more importantly, the entire biological community itself. It not only kills off the wild life but it is suggested that pollution is also the world’s leading cause of diseases and deaths in humans which accounts for more than 14,000 people daily.
Human impact • Humans have used the worlds water systems as dumping grounds for century's but only in the last 50 years have we started to notice the negative impacts its had on our earth. A 2008 studies revealed that different human activity, such as over fishing, greenhouse gases, global warming and the introduction of toxins into the environment has affectedWater pollution can be traced back from either point sources or nonpoint sources. What point source water pollution refers to contaminates that enter a waterway from a single, identifiable source such as a pipe, sewage, factory or a city storm drain. What nonpoint sources refers to the contamination that doesn’t originate from a single discreet source such as fertilizers, herbicides and insecticides, industrial production and gas smoke from the millions of vehicles on road.
Wild life • The main issue caused by water pollution is that it kills any life that may inhabit a certain polluted area. Fish, birds, seals, dolphins and whales often end up on beaches killed by contamination. Due to the actions of humans, marine mammal populations especially are slowly decreasing and are suffering dramatic rises in illness caused by pollution such as nervous and digestive problems, liver disease, reproductive malformations and cancer.Scientists suggest that these illnesses are caused by contamination in the water with man made toxins. They also believe that a lot of the marine mammals are getting sick due to there choice of prey, which is highly contaminated as well. The contaminated food accumulates in there body, especially in there fatty tissues and breast milk which lead to further problems when trying to reproduce.
Works cited • http://asf.ca/endangered-populations.html • http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_impact_on_the_environment • • http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_fishing • http://www.worldwatch.org/node/6297 • • http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi/10.1126/science.267.5201.1117 • • http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_the_energy_industry • • http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_war