Mass Species Extinction Is Exaggerated
Article Written By: Peter Foster
Financial Post, September 13, 2007. Copyright © 2007 The National Post Company
Summary: It is often assumed that human actions are at the forefront of the phenomenon known as "Mass Species Extinction." We have been told that among the millions of both unknown and known species across the planet, human activity has caused the extinction of thousands of species. However, is that entirely the case? This article takes the issue head on as Foster dives headfirst into the heated debate over mass extinction. His findings conclude that the extinction rate among species is highly exaggerated and exploited. While he agrees that extinction is very serious business, he believes that it is just another part of nature's cycle. Perhaps extinction facts may be skewed, and the reasoning behind the belief of mass extinction may be a bit flawed. Mass extinction takes into account the millions of other species that we have yet to even prove exist. Foster drives the idea home that mass extinction may not be as catastrophic as we think it is.
The Javan elephants were thought to be extinct after they were hunted by settlers in the 1800s. However, in 2006 the elephants were rediscovered 800 miles away on the island of Borneo.
Opinion: Initially, I was taken aback by the very strong point the author makes in the title. Mass extinction cannot be taken as lightly as the author makes it out to be. He hints that mass extinction is simply inflated for attention and funding. There may be a small dose of truth in his article about funding and attention, but the big picture is still the same. Mass species extinction is a very serious threat, and it’s taking place in our era. The disappearance of any species is a disaster, let alone hundreds or even thousands of them. In stead of taking drastic measure to preserve dying species, we should be adjusting our actions so we cause no harm in the future. On a personal level, I recycle paper, plastic, and metal. I also make a conscious effort not to abuse privileges like electricity, hot water, and fuel. If everyone took these miniscule measures, we’d have a much more pleasant environmental future ahead of us.
Questions:
1. What are your thoughts on mass extinction? (Is is natural, should be stop it, are we to blame for it, is it exaggerated ect.)
2. When scientists study mass extinction, they take into account species that haven't been discovered yet. Is it fair to include these unknown species? Is it scientific?
3. How much do you think humans play a part in mass extinction? What could we do to limit our influence in mass extinction?
Opinion/Reflection:
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Eugene. Even the extinction of one species can't be taken lightly, let alone a mass extinction of many species. It is truly tragic for a species, whether they have an important role towards our society or not, to be completely wiped off the face of the Earth. Some like that is not the course of nature. The course of nature is for a population to have variations over time, but never to be completely wiped out. Personally, I believe that this author should not be acting like our current situation is not a big deal, because it is. With the way that we treat the environment, I am not surprised that a mass extinction could be looming in the near future. If Foster can't see how badly we treat the environment and the effect it is having on species around the globe, then there is a problem. He should not have put down other scientists work, because with the number of endangered species, they are probably right.
Answering a Question:
How much do you think humans play a part in mass extintion? What could we do to limit our influence in mass extinction?
As I stated before, I think we play a major role in mass extinction. We are destroying so much of many species habitats. This is disrupting many ecosystems and depleting the populations of many species. To limit our influence, we could stop developing areas that are known to have animals and plants live in them already. This way, we could preserve these habitats and protect the organisms within them.
I agree with Eugene, the author of his article may think that the idea of mass extinction is overstated, but facts are facts. Our planet is losing a tremendous number of species; which some scientists believe may lead to the 6th mass extinction the world will have experienced over its many years. Even when just a few species become extinct it affects other animals too, which can create a chain reaction of extinction. Although Foster says that the extinction rate is “highly exaggerated” I believe that we should try to stop any extinction that is a result of human activities. I do not agree that it is just part of nature’s cycle. If we have a chance to preserve the population size of species, we should do it to maintain or promote biodiversity within ecosystems. This could be as simple as saving just one species. You see people do these drastic things to help our environment but it is the little things that can go a long way, such as riding a bike instead of driving. This small act lowers the amount of pollution in the air which limits global warming, therefore saving many animals in the colder parts of the world. I think that humans are playing a big part in the mass extinction that might be ahead and if each of us made a little difference in our daily lives we could make a huge difference in the lives of species all over the world. The following article addresses mass extinction and their causes. http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/prehistoric-world/mass-extinction/ When there have been mass extinctions in the past, they have resulted from natural occurrences like asteroids or volcanic eruptions. Scientists predict that the next mass extinction will be the result of the wreckless pollution, land clearing, and overfishing of humans. Let’s hope we change our ways before this happens.
ReplyDelete