The Environmental Impact of Wetland Destruction and Deforestation

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The Environmental Impact of Wetland Destruction and Deforestation

Thesis: The forests and wetlands of the world are being destroyed at unacceptable rates. This destruction is causing many adverse effects on the environment, many of which will not be felt by the global population until they are irreversible.

Introduction

Human life cannot exist in the absence of complicated interactions of millions of species in biological systems. Yet as humans, we live during a period of the greatest loss of plant and animal species since the mega-extinctions of the Jurassic Period 65 million years ago. Harvard University biologist E.O. Wilson estimates "that 50,000 plant and animal species disappear each year due to tropical deforestation, expanding agriculture, and human settlement." (Hinrichsen, 1999) Human activities impact the environment, including clearing agricultural land; air, land and water pollution; urban and suburban development; and the introduction of invasive or non-native wildlife species. If land and wildlife are poorly managed, humans risk fragmenting habitat, destroying essential wilderness, and altering food webs and species relationships.

As the birth of the sixth billionth person on earth has come and gone environmental consideration has never been a more important issue. Wetland destruction and deforestation are issues in two of the five major global environmental ecosystems; Water, Forest, Soil, Air, Animals. The forests and wetlands of the earth are being destroyed at unacceptable rates causing global damage that may not be realize until it is too late.

Value of Wetlands

Global wetlands are called "the nursery of much life" because they are one of the most valuable resources for life on earth. The...

... middle of paper ...

... something about it. The hope is that people will begin to listen and help before they have no other choice.

References

Finer, David. 1984."Agriculture as the Problem: New Agendas and the New Opportunities." Southern Journal of Agricultural Economics.20(Dec.):1-11

Goldstein, Jon H., 1988. "The Impact of Federal Programs on Wetlands." Washington D.C.: US Department of Interior.

Heimlich, Ralph E.,and Vesterby, Marlow. 1989. "Conversion of Wetlands to Urban Uses: Evidence from Southeastern Counties" Wetlands. Concerns and Successes. pp.161-73

Hinrichsen, Don. Sept./Oct. 1999. "6 billion Consumption Machines." InternationalWildlife..websource:http://www.nwf.org/nwf/international/pop/y6b/

Lorenz, Jack. 1989. "Press Release." Izaak Walton League News. 3(June):pp.1-3

Pearce, Fred. Jul. 92. "Saving the Amazon." World Press Review. vol.39. Issue 7. p.42

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