The Itch You Don’t Want to Scratch “If you want to think about why humans are so dangerous to other species, you can picture a poacher in Africa carrying and Ak-47/ better still, you can picture yourself, holding a book on your lap” (Kolbert 266). This excerpt alone sets up the dark narrative that lies within The Sixth Extinction. It is uncomfortable to think about the impact that humans have on the environment on a global scale; however, it is nearly unbearable to recognize individual actions such as reading a book, directly contribute to the devastation of the earth. Uneasiness, nervousness, anxiety, all synonyms for discomfort, yet none quite capture the complete sensation encountered when following Kolbert on her journey around the world. She delves deep into the jungles of Panama, sails across open waters to the islands of Iceland, climbs up the hills of Scotland, and climbs down the valleys of Germany: She discovers that humans alive today are not only witnessing the sixth mass extinction, they are causing it (7-8). Since the …show more content…
“By the time we’re done, it’s quite possible that there will be among the great apes not a single representative left, except, that is, for us,” Kolbert deduces (225). Hunting a species has caused the endangerment and extinction of many species of animals and plants. Six out of eight species of the world’s bears are categorized as “vulnerable” or “endangered” to extinct (222). Advocating for rights of endangered species, and protecting the forests they habitat is a noteworthy method to prevent extinction caused by humans. As an individual, one could help by supporting and donating to organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund, the National Wildlife Federation, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and more (262). Humans may ease their conscience by not actively killing endangered species, but protecting them
These two sides of the issue bring about a major controversy in America today. Should the Pacific Northwest’s old growth forests and the welfare of the Northern Spotted Owl be sacrificed for America’s economy, and the jobs of the people in the logging industry? Which should be placed at a higher value, the forests in the Pacific Northwest and the northern spotted owl, or the American economy and the jobs and welfare of thousands and thousands of people?
Ishmael is a very captivating novel which teaches us valuable lessons about helping our environment. In our society, most people overlook how fundamental the environment is for our survival. The book explains how we can “save the world.” However, one should note that saving the world doesn’t necessarily mean being a superhero. We can save the world by just helping to preserve and protect the environment. The book also highlights the theme of captivity and how it is prevalent in every life form. The author, Daniel Quinn, explains captivity in a very unique way. By using a gorilla as a teacher, it gives us a different view of how we impact our planet. After reading Ishmael, it opened a whole new perspective of how I see the world.
The long-term aim is to develop an approach to ethics that will help resolve contemporary issues regarding animals and the environment. In their classical formulations and as recently revised by animal and environmental ethicists, mainstream Kantian, utilitarian, and virtue theories have failed adequately to include either animals or the environment, or both. The result has been theoretical fragmentation and intractability, which in turn have contributed, at the practical level, to both public and private indecision, disagreement, and conflict. Immensely important are the practical issues; for instance, at the public level: the biologically unacceptable and perhaps cataclysmic current rate of species extinctions, the development or preservation of the few remaining wilderness areas, the global limitations on the sustainable distribution of the current standard of living in the developed nations, and the nonsustainability and abusiveness of today's technologically intense crop and animal farming. For individuals in their private lives, the choices include, for example: what foods to eat, what clothing to wear, modes of transportation, labor-intensive work and housing, controlling reproduction, and the distribution of basic and luxury goods. What is needed is an ethical approach that will peacefully resolve these and other quandaries, either by producing consensus or by explaining the rational and moral basis for the continuing disagreement.
In his book, Planet Without Apes, Stanford introduces readers to apes, shows why the apes are endangered, how similar we are to apes, and why we should protect the apes. He does so in nine chapters – “Save the Apes”, “Heart of Darkness”, “Homeless”, “Bushmeat”, “Outbreak”, “In a Not-So-Gilded Cage”, “The Double-Edged Sword of Ecotourism”, “Ethnocide”, and “May There Always be Apes”. Stanford strategically chooses the name Planet Without the Apes, as a parody of the Hollywood franchise, hoping such a title would capture potential readers’ interests. Stanford does not simply tell us why we need to save the apes – he brings us on a journey with the apes and by the end of the book, we feel compelled to save the apes.
Many hunters argue that the protectiveness towards grizzly bears is oriented more towards emotion than environmental sustainability. Researchers at the BC Raincoast Conservation Foundation have been devoted to fighting the hunt for over a decade now. Although they do signify that emotion is a part of their reason for banning hunting bears, they like to focus on the ecological and ethical aspects of the hunt. There is a big controversy over the fact that if there is a sustainable number of bears in the environment and people are allowed to kill them, then why is the surplus of humans allowed to grow?
The book is often cited as an environmental classic - of which there can be little doubt - but it is also said by some to have largely triggered the modern environmental movement. Its warning about the dangers of
These people could include scientists, conservationists, and/or government officials because of their direct correlation to efforts similar to those that the author describes. Though there are people who share the author’s beliefs, the secondary audience to this piece would include those who disagree with the author’s claim. People such as scientists, and government officials could also fall into this category, as they may disagree with the author’s claim. As a tertiary audience, the general public could be considered because of either their agreement, disagreement, or neutrality on the author’s claim that it is the ethical responsibility of humans to revive species which have become extinct directly due to human influence. Arguing his claim that humans have an obligation to revive species which have been driven to extinction directly due to human influences, the author makes use of the rhetorical device logos.... ...
Can one person, one person out of the billions of people on this magnificent planet, really make a difference? There are over seven billion people living on Earth, each with a separate and unique purpose. Jane Goodall, one person out of the seven billion, knew her purpose from a young age, and dedicated her life to accomplishing it. In Reason for Hope, Goodall unearths the connection and compatibility between faith and knowledge, and shares her project with her readers. Jane Goodall was a visionary, and had a project so immense that it must be broken down into three subprojects: the effect of chimps on chimps in Gombe, the relationship between chimps and humans throughout her time in the scientific world, and the human on human connection in our past, present, and future.
“Is it right, in the deepest moral sense, for one conscious being to eat another?” Throughout Eating Apes, Dale Peterson takes the readers through what he experienced, saw, and the issues presented with trying to protect the apes to gear us to answer that question. He was able to do this with the stories of Karl Ammann, who took the photographs presented in the book, and Joseph Melloh, a gorilla hunter from Cameroon. Prior to taking this class, my knowledge of apes going extinct went as far as being aware that we needed to save them from extinction. However, I was unaware of neither how brutal apes were treated nor how pivotal they were to people in Central Africa’s diet – until I began reading Eating Apes. Eating Apes is a descriptive but difficult book to read through that describes why the ape population was diminishing and the various stakeholders involved.
In all ages, when it comes to grizzly bears, people’s first thought was that they are dangerous, and get away from them if you met them. Nevertheless, different from the past, today’s humans especially children are exceedingly willing to visit grizzly bears in the zoo. Furthermore, bear watching becomes one of the most popular activities for animal lovers who come from all over the world, and a survey indicates that in Greater Yellowstone, a nature-based bear watching tourism economy is worth “more than $1 billion annually.” (Yellowstone's Grizzly Bears Should Not Be Hunted) Besides, if hunters fortuitously shoot a famous bear, this may “ignite public outrage, like the case of Cecil the Lion.” (Yellowstone's Grizzly Bears Should Not Be Hunted) Additionally, because of grizzly bears’ “rarity,” (Yellowstone's Grizzly Bears Should Not Be Hunted) their “economically worth far more alive than as a person's rug or trophy.” (Yellowstone's Grizzly Bears Should Not Be
The Extinction of Dinosaurs How did the dinosaurs become extinct? This is a question that has stumped scientists ever since dinosaur fossils were first discovered. There are many theories as to how the dinosaurs became extinct. This page presents some of the most popular theories. Keep in mind that there is no absolutely proven theory.
Since jaguars are able to adapt quickly and keep up the pace of living in an environment with such biodiversity, the preservation of these rainforest habitats will provide the organic atmosphere that jaguars need. Elizabeth Kolbert, author of The Sixth Extinction, explains one theory as to why species, like jaguars, reside and thrive in jungles “One theory holds that more species live in the tropics because the evolutionary clock there ticks faster”, (Kolbert 153). Here Kolbert elaborates on the blurry details of the rate of evolution in the tropics versus other biomes on the planet. Jaguar’s large claws for catching prey, thick skull for protection, and narrow rib cages for speed are all evidence of a rapidly ticking ‘evolutionary clock’;
When I started this paper, I had many questions. I wanted to know what all the main theories of dinosaur extinction are and how many there are. I also wanted to know what factors in each theory would have killed these massive beasts. Other questions I had are: had dinosaurs been dying out before the event? Did any dinosaurs survive the Cretaceous/Tertiary (K/T) event? What religious beliefs contradict the dinosaurs’ very existence? The last question I wanted to address was whether or not an event such as this one could happen to us? After five papers and hours of research, some of the new questions I have are: what happened after the Cretaceous/Tertiary event? I would also now like to know if one of these theories could happen to us and how we would be able to handle it. I came up with these questions because I wanted to know we are living with this present danger. Whether a huge ice age could eradicate an entire population of humans is mind-boggling and would be extremely interesting to research. To come up with these new questions, I let my brain wander. I was joking a...
The closest relative to the human species, the chimpanzee, remains severely threatened by human encroachment thus receiving the classification of endangered. These threats to the chimpanzee population, linked to human encroachment on native lands, caused a sharp decline in population and continue to produce dwindling numbers today. The lack of governmental action and knowledge of the public highlight the main areas of neglect for this endangered species. Action must follow to prevent the total eradication of these unique and crucial mammals to the ecosystem. Threats to the chimpanzees including habitat loss, disease, poaching must diminish due to government passage of regulatory and restrictive laws. Human influence greatly diminishes the chimpanzee population;
of species due to a variety of causes. Included is out competition, depletion of resources