Our Ecosystems are Being Disrupted and Destroyed by the Hands of Humans

All over the world our ecosystems are being disrupted and destroyed by the hands of humans not realizing that the forest and oceans we cut down and pollute are the very things keeping the human race alive. Conservation is important because the more habitats that are preserved and protected the more natural resources we will be able to use in the long run and the better quality of life we will have. With the ocean inhabitants providing us with clean oxygen and water and animals like bees providing us with honey, conserving their habitat is the only way to keep these important resources from becoming scarce. Conservation is not only important for us today, but it will lay the groundwork for what our future generation will have to survive on. The more natural resources we deplete today the less our children and grandchildren will have in the years to come. The world needs to adopt better conservation and preservation practices to sustain our planet because without our various organisms around to help our ecosystem thrive, humans would not be able to sustain ourselves for very long.

Humans need to conserve the earth because it provides us with our most basic means of life. Water and oxygen, two things we receive from our oceans and other natural water sources, such as rivers and streams has seen many years of pollution and toxic waste dumping that has led to a decline in valuable marine life such as phytoplankton, which help produce over half of the air we and other animals on this planet breathe. With climate change and pollution these ocean creatures population has decreased drastically causing scientist to have to look to other means of oxygen production and water purification processes. Organizations have already been researching ways to artificially purify water after the constant pollution of our water supply, the threat of a future without clean drinking water is a very real one. Two processes that occur naturally on earth are being threatened by our carelessness towards our natural water sources and the naïve ideology that the ocean and its inhabitants and what happens to them are not important to us. , it’s a saddening truth that a process that is naturally occurring is becoming harder to do, forcing us to look at other solutions, where as if we preserve of oceans and other natural water sources we would not have such a need for artificial water purification. Pollution to the ocean is pollution to our drinking water and oxygen, if we do not become more conscious about how we treat our oceans and other water sources we may lose access to clean, fresh water and oxygen, the basis for all human life. If our oceans continue to be polluted and marine ecosystems destroyed, we as humans will continue to ingest that toxic material and in turn our quality of life will be affected. Our oceans need to be protected from overfishing and waste dumping not just for the sake of our oxygen and water supply, but for global warming and climate change as well. The inhabitants of the ocean help contribute to the reduction of CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) gases, also known as Greenhouse- warming gas which are extremely harmful to the planet. A study done by Dr. Andrew King from the University of Melbourne shows that without human induced climate change recent hot summers would not have occurred. Evidence of human induces global warming has been traced back to the 1930’s. With all of those years of proven human induced global warming, we need to keep the oceans as clean as possible. The CO2 waste dissolves into the ocean where it is absorbed by the Phytoplankton to grow, when they die the CO1 sinks to the bottom of the ocean as organic matter. Nearly half the CO2 produced by humans in the last 200 years has dissolved into the ocean. The ocean acts as a buffer between the CO2 we produce to help regulate temperature and climate change. The surface layer of the ocean absorbs over half the heat from the sun and distributes the heat around the world. This process is extremely important as it determines the climate and temperature of the world’s continents and keeps the temperature from becoming too hot or too cold. The ocean plays a very important role to our existence as humans, it is crucial that we do not let this key component to our survival dwindle away.

Our ecosystem is made up of many different diverse organisms, these organisms may seem like a minute part of our lives play a much bigger role than we think, these organisms all have a direct or indirect affect on our lives. When one part of the ecosystem dies off or is not functioning properly it throws of the entire balance. Our ecosystem is much like a domino affect, every action has a reaction that impacts another. Every living thing on this earth has a purpose, from the trees to the ocean, to the various wild-life around us, it all works together seamlessly to create our ecosystem. Habitat destruction has played a role in the emergence of disease organisms that move between humans and other animals. Many of our wild-life creatures have seen the destruction of their habitats, with years of deforestation many of the forest creatures have had to adapt with out their native habitat and have been forced to migrate to find new environments to thrive. The clearing of forests in Southeast Asia and Australia, led certain types of flying fox fruit bats to move closer to farm animals mostly pigs and horses. The farm animals ate virus-ridden bat saliva or urine, became ill, and transmitted the disease to humans who came into contact with them. Neither virus was new, but both were kept from humans until habitat destruction introduced the disease to the public. Zoonotic diseases, which are transferred from animals to humans, have a huge impact on the population. Of the diseases identified an estimated 2.7 million deaths occur annually and 2.5 billion human sicknesses have been recorded. In addition to the loss of human life and sickness, disease transmissions like this can put a strain on the human food supply as well. With farm animals being sick we are not able to use them for food production which would cause a shortage in the livestock we have available for consumption. This example highlights how carelessness towards our environment and its inhabitants can unknowingly affect us as a society in the direst of ways and how we should be more conscious of how our advances as a society will potentially affect the environment around us. Years of deforestation and increased farm production has wiped out many species around the world. 72% of the butterfly population has decreased and an estimated 44 million breeding birds have been lost since the 1960’s in the UK. Habitats need conserving to retain the diversity of plant, bird, mammal and insect populations.

When thinking about why conservation is important to the human race, we should concentrate on what areas we can better educate ourselves on conserving the natural resources we have left and on sustainability and what that will look like for our future generations. All the things we need to survive, such as food, water, air and shelter, come from natural resources. We need to focus on producing renewable sources, which are resources that can be replaced such as plants and trees. Some resources such as fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas cannot be replenished and once they are depleted will be gone forever, these are considered nonrenewable sources. As a whole we as humans waste natural resources by depleting fuel supplies, overhunting/ fishing, deforestation and air and water pollution. If we continue to carelessly waste these resources they will be used up. Forest land provides habitats for animals and planets. The trees store carbon, which helps reduce global warming, and provide lumber and firewood for humans. Eighty percent of Earth’s land animals and planets live in forest; deforestation is a huge threat to their habitat and overall survival. Deforestation is the process of clearing away forest by cutting them down; deforestation destroys wildlife habitats and releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming. The earth loses about 36 million acres of forest land to deforestation. The best solution to deforestation is to carefully manage forest resources by eliminating clear-cutting to make sure forest environments remain intact. The cutting that does occur should be balanced by planting new trees to replace the trees that were cut. We need to protect biodiversity to ensure we have enough food sources. Through conservation and preservation people can reduce waste and manage natural resources responsibly.

Some may argue that conservation is not an important issue or that it has no effect on us as humans. The biggest concern with conservation efforts is the overall cost of protecting habitats. Deforestation gives us lumber to build houses and businesses, while the forest land helps us expand as a population. Hunting and fishing provide us with food and are good recreational sports, while the ocean is important for our ships to transport goods internationally. Some argue that conservation is not a win- win scenario and that forcing conservation such as a ban on deforestation and hunting efforts criminalizes locals and makes them feel guilty. Aggressive conservation practices may pressurize organizations to appeal to more ecofriendly tourism; however some of these conservation projects create a false sense to the public that they are helping the environment when some of them are just manufactured attractions. It is important to way all of the outcomes from conserving the environment; these reasons are all valid reasons to be hesitant about aggressive conservation efforts; however the pros of conservation and preservation of the planet far outweigh the cons.

The human population needs to conserve our world’s natural resources. Our lives depend on success of the ocean and forest life. Our agriculture and food supply, as well as our fresh oxygen and water supply depend on having a strong ecosystem of diverse organisms to keep the balance. There needs to be more protection for the non-renewable resources we have left and more education on our renewable natural resources and how to keep them thriving for many years to come. Better waste management and recycling practices will help with the pollution of or oceans and the destruction of its habitat. More consideration from builders and corporations as well as stricter laws on deforestation and clear cutting will help with the rapid rate at which we are losing forest land, as well as the impact of human induced greenhouse gas on the planet. The next generation deserves to live in a world devoid of pollution, and rich in fresh, clean water and air. If we work together to protect and preserve out environment and natural resources we can achieve a future without the worry of our resources being depleted. What type of life will we leave for our children and grandchildren will depend on how we treat the planet now, conservation is a crucial part of ensuring that their quality life is a good one.

The time is now for us to take stock of what this planet means to us as humans, as our own known habitat we need to keep it around for as long as possible, and conservation and preservation is the only way we can ensure the survival and continuation of the human race. The world needs to adopt better conservation and preservation practices to sustain our planet because without our various organisms around to help our ecosystem flow smoothly and thrive, humans would not be able to sustain ourselves for very long.