Wildlife
The"cry of the wild" can still be heard across
this great land. I have heard
the bugle of an elk on the Great Plains...the
shrill of a bald eagle along the
banks of the mightily Mississippi...the roar
of a brown eagle bear on windswept
tundra...and the gobble of a wild turkey
among western foothills. Amazing beauty
can still be found in the natural
landscapes of this great land. I have seen
through televisions, articles,
books, and newspapers the towering
forests...pristine waters...rich
wetlands...wide-open prairies...majestic
mountains...and vast deserts alive
with color. I am in awe by the complexity and
wonder of the natural world.
Truly, it is where you can find solace and peace.
America is truly
blessed. A land rich in natural resources----our sense of
adventure,
pioneering spirit, and tenacity. Irving Berlin’s God Bless America,
Woody
Guthrie’s This Land is Your Land, and Samuel Smith’s America all
declare a
love and respect for this land we call "home." It is our duty to
regain a
love and respect for the land, its beauty, and life ‘s comfort. The
legacy of
our natural resource heritage must be preserved. Education is the
answer.
Through writing my paper I have learned that endangered species is more
than
a name, it is a mission in-and-of-itself, a mission to keep safe
our
wildlife---forever. The earth is home to more than 5.2 billion people,
each
having certain needs, wants, and desires. The process of consumption
drastically
changes the natural landscape, an many cases to the wearing away
of other
species. Consumption transform vast quantities of natural resources,
such as
fossil fuels and trees, into countless products and mountains of
waste. As such,
it directly and indirectly impacts land use decisions
including wetland
drainage, the clearing of forest, mining, agricultural
production, and
development. Over time, the increasing affect of poor land
use, decisions, and
reckless use of natural resources have undermined the
integrity and to keep up
the ability of the natural world, resulting in
global environmental reduction.
In his book, Earth in the
Balance---Ecology and the Human Spirit, Vice President
Al Gore writes:
"The disharmony in our relationship to the earth, which stems
in part from
our addiction to a pattern of consuming ever-larger quantities of
the
resources of the earth, is now manifest in successive crises, each marking
a
more destructive clash between our civilization and the natural world:
whereas
all threats to the environment used to be local and regional, several
are now
strategic . The loss of one and a half acres of rain forest every
second, the
sudden, thousand fold acceleration of the natural extinction rate
for living
species, the ozone hole above Antarctica and the thinning of the
ozone layer at
all latitudes, the possible destruction of the climate balance
that makes our
lives livable--all these suggest the increasingly violent
collision between
human civilization and the natural world. For civilization
as a whole, the faith
that is so essential to restore the balance now missing
in our relationship to
the earth is the faith that we have a future. We can
believe in that future and
work to achieve it and preserve it, or we can
whirl blindly on, behaving as if
one day there will be no children to inherit
our legacy. The choice is ours; the
earth is in the balance." What is the
leading threat to wildlife? What does
the word "threatened" mean? What does
the word "endangered mean? Does
extinction really mean gone forever? What
happened to the Bald Eagle? The words"threatened" and "endangered" are used to
describe the status of rare
wildlife and plant species. Threatened is used to
classify a species with
dangerously low population numbers. The bald eagle is
an example of a threatened
wildlife species. And extinct is used to identify
a species that no longer
exists or has died out. The dusky seaside sparrow is
an example of an extinct
wildlife species. Persistent decline in wildlife
populations led Congress to
enact the Endangered Species in 1973. The act
mandated the federal government to
protect endangered wildlife, plant
species, and their habitats. Today, there are
over 1,000 species protected by
the Endangered Species Act. Approximately 50
species are added each year. The
loss of any species is cause for great concern.
However, extinction
occurs naturally as part of the process of evolution. In
fact,
paleontologists (one who studies the past geological periods) have yet
to
agree upon what caused dinosaurs to become extinct. Theories include a
collision
with a massive meteorite or the eruption of a volcano leading to
drastic changes
in climate conditions. For whatever reason, when one group of
animals takes its
place. Generally, the "new" species is better suited or
adapted to the
environment. It may have concealing camouflage or tremendous
speed. It may be
able to tolerate drought conditions, extreme heat, or cold
temperatures. It may
benefit from a wide variety of foods instead of a
limited few. The adaptability
of favorable characteristics and the ability to
survive and flourish is commonly
referred to as "survival of the fittest" or
"natural selection."
Although extinction occurs naturally over the course
of thousands of years and
the strongest species, human activity has
accelerated the rate of low.