Could the world finally be ready for the scientific advancement that is the process of de-extinction? Do the risks outweigh the rewards? Would scientists even be able to successfully accomplish the task at hand? The restoration of species could severely benefit scientific advancements and also help develop the environment and rebuild the ecosystem.
There have been many debates on whether the effects of de-extinction would do more harm than good, both scientifically and ethically. Some see only the negatives, while some refuse to see anything other than the positives. Through these debates however, many scientists have been able to test their hypothesis and discover more advancements in bioengineering. The tests done have both supported and opposed different claims about the process itself. Scientists and Humanitarians alike argue that it’s all about “..desire, on the part of many people, to see living examples of extinct animals (or plants)...” (Document 1, Lines 22-23). This shows that the populous is in favor of the restoration of extinct species as it would bring about a great change in the fight against extinction as a whole.
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There are several environmental risks that go along with the success of de-extinction. Some risks are that “previously benign organisms could become pests in new environments, prove ideal reservoirs or vectors of nasty plagues, or might even harbor dangerous retroviruses in their genomes.” (Document 4, Lines 24-26). These “new” species could spread foreign diseases throughout the environment and completely kill of other species that don’t have the genetic makeup or immune systems to survive, which is a major risk to the human race as
...rupt native species and ecosystem hence making the restoration of both evolutional and ecological potential almost impossible. Whereas Donlan (2005) concluded that re-wilding North American is the best conservation strategy to the African and Asian threatened megafauna, meanwhile re-wilding will restores the evolutionary and ecological potentials in the process. In my point of view, Pleistocene re-wilding must not be implemented simply because the introduced species might fail to adapt to the new environment. High costs and disease outbreak are another challenge that can’t be ignored.
middle of paper ... ... Therefore, the argument that humans have an obligation to revive species which have been driven to extinction directly due to human influences is ineffective and not a credible argument. Works Cited Zimmer, Carl. A.
The eradication of species numbers average at a toll close to one hundred percent of earths total living creatures. “It is the Earth's most severe known extinction event, with up to 96% of all marine species and 70% of terrestrial vertebrate species becoming extinct” (Sahney, and Benton 759). Not only where marine and terrestrial species effected but this catastrophic event is the only recogni...
Long-term survival of a species depends on its ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions (Murphy, 1994). Genetic diversity within a species, which has taken 3.5 billion years to evolve, makes adaptations to these changing environments possible. Unfortunately, the rate of extinction of genetically diverse organisms is rapidly increasing, thus reducing this needed biodiversity, largely due to the human impacts of development and expansion. What was an average of one extinction per year before is now one extinction per hour and extinct species numbers are expected to reach approximately one million by the year 2000 (WWW site, Bio 65). As a result governmental and societal action must be taken immediately!
In spite of the overwhelming amount of negative speculation, the practice of de-extinction might potentially produce some positive ramifications. According to Stewart Brand, a writer for National Geographic, humans should bring back extinct species “to preserve biodiversity, to restore diminished ecosystems...and to undo harm that humans have caused in the past.” If humans were to tamper with nature and bring back an extinct animal, desolate ecosystems which previously thrived, such as deserted islands, could be partially restored through their
Extinction is when the birth rate fails to keep up with the death rate, it is
De-extinction is a process that has been experimented with for many years, but has never been completely successful. The ethics and consequences of this idea have been questioned but, de-extinction has the potential to be truly helpful to humans and the environment, and many of the scenarios that people think could happen, are actually impossible. To actually revive a species, there are certain conditions that must be met, and the terrible situations that people think could happen, are unable to actually occur because of the lack of . Bringing species back that are beneficial to the environment could preserve biodiversity, restore diminished ecosystems, advance the science of preventing extinctions, and undo the harm that people have caused in the past. The true potential of the revival of species cannot be realized because people overdramatize the effects and possible outcomes. Once we realize and understand how beneficial the process of de-extinction can be we can better improve our world, our lives, and our ecosystems.
Humans are destructive. Not a lot of us think about how what we do affects the world around us. We almost act like we are the only ones on this planet. We go around polluting and destroying our world with no regard for our actions. The things that live out in the wild are paying the price for it. Every day that passes there is another animal or plant that is placed on an endangered list. This is happening at an alarming rate. Because of man’s desire to expand and conquer their surroundings, there are animals and plants that are on the brink of extinction that will not be around for our kids and future generations to enjoy if something is not done about it now. This problem has been going on for hundreds of years. There are animals and plants that can only been seen in paintings or early photography. It is because of our early ancestors that we have this problem today and we have to do more to prevent more animals and plants from disappearing forever.
Any species which fall into the categories vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered are considered to be at risk of extinction. Robert Redford said “I think the environment should be put in the category of our national security defense of our resource’s because it’s just as important as defense abroad otherwise what is there to defend?” People should all take the environment more seriously and protect the future for those to come. It’s our responsibility to ensure that the children to come may enjoy all of earth’s beauty, and not through old issues of National Geographic’s.
...later time. Though it is simply impossible to know what the ultimate effects will be on our long term survival as a species, it is important to bear in mind that, once a species has been eliminated through extinction, it cannot be brought back. So, for the overall health of our rainforests, their biodiversity, and the limitless potential contained therein, it is crucial for us, as humans, to make as honest an effort as possible at their preservation.
Australian researches have made major steps towards bringing frog that was extinct in 1983 back to life. Although the procedure of de-extinction is much more complex than cloning living animals. A group of scientists (Lazarus Project team) believe humans have the skill and obligation to repair the damage they have done to the world, which has caused numerous species to die out.
When a species dies the earth has more room to form and evolve a new species. Scientists are still unsure of what really happened and why these mass extinctions occur, they call them “unsolved mysteries. Although volcanic eruptions and large asteroids and comets are used as explanations to mass extinctions Both disasters would lead to a dirty environment, having a bunch of debri in the air.
Biodiversity loss can lead to extinction, and hurt human life. It is our responsibility to take care of the environment. We bring in machines that harm the environment and destroy animal life. We need to limit ourselves on how much land and resources we consume. There are major issues that are causing species to become extinct and hurt our way of life and other animals do to the change in food chain.
Various plant and animal species depend on each other for what each offers and these diverse species ensures natural sustainability for all life forms. A healthy and solid biodiversity can recover itself from a variety of disasters. It is estimated that the current species extinction rate is between 1,000 and 10,000 times higher than it would naturally be. Therefore, there is an urgent need, not only to manage and conserve the biotic wealth, but also restore the degraded ecosystems. c) Captivity breeding species can again be reintroduced into the wild.