Lately, global warming is threatening the entire polar bear population. Scientists warn that the rising temperatures will cause all of the summer sea ice that the bears depend on to vanish by 2040 (Polar bear SOS). Polar bears need that ice as a platform for hunting, travelling, mating, and for giving birth. When their ice melts, their food sources will decline and they will be forced to swim further to distant ice floes. During these journeys, many polar bears either drown or get lost.
The cancer is spreading so rapidly that scientists estimate that within 5 to 15 years, the disease will have spread to the entire species, causing extinction. The aggressive tumour causes death within 6 months because of airway obstruction and incapacity to consume food. DFTD is transmitted from biting during courtship battles and fighting in which “facial tumour cells of one devil are transferred to another as an allograft” (McCallum, 2007). Scientists are still trying to discover a vaccination, but unfortunately they are many years away from completely understanding the disease. History of the disease outbreak In early 1996, a photograph was taken of a Tasmanian devil by Chris Baars, with an unusual facial deformity (Hawkins & McCallum, 2008, p.631).
For example, The Exxon Valdez oil spill on 24 March 1989 when an oil tank ran aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska and 240,000 barrels of crude oil were spilled. This affected 25,000 km2 of waters and 1,750km of coast which was home to 600, 000 birds. Between 100,000 to 300,000 birds died and the fragile tundra ecosystem was damaged. Pollution is another way that development increases pressure on coastal land because it is one of the most damaging threats to wildlife. Costal ecosystems can be severely damaged or completely destroyed by raw sewage from urban settlements, agricultural chemicals and increased sediment from land disturbance.
English 101 October 2, 2013 Deforestation and the Red Panda Deforestation is the cutting down of a forest. Forests are cut down for many reasons, including logging, farming, and housing. Deforestation can have many harmful effects, including loss of habitat for many different plants and animal species. Because of deforestation, many plant and animal species (some known and unknown to us) are lost due to the loss of habitat. About 50 thousand species of animals and plants disappear in result of deforestation every year.
More than 30 million people including the indigenous people count on the forest for food, agriculture, clothing, and traditional medicines (Amazon). The truth is that some of the indigenous tribes in South America will go extinct along with their unique language due to deforestation. The amazon is home to some of the most stunning animals such as, the gorilla, jaguar, pink dolphin, the macaw, and many others. Deforestation of the amazon is annihilating the homes of these marvelous creatures. Animal habitats are also being destroyed or altered due to deforestation.
WILDLIFE IN THE TAIGA: The taiga holds many endangered species including the grizzly bear, the Siberian crane, the wood bison, the Siberian tiger and the beaver. Plants besides the evergreens include the Balsalmic fir, the Black spruce, the Douglas fir, the Eastern red cedar, the Jack pine and many more. Because of the extreme cold and low precipitation (12-33 inches per year),in the taiga, the plants have a hard time surviving. The taiga has soil similar to the tundra’s. Many animals use the trees here for shelter including the bald eagle, our national bird.
The third chapter of the book focuses on coal mining and its dehumanizing effects that take place in Welch, West Virginia. "Disease in the coalfields is rampant... More than half a million acres, or eight hundred square miles, of the Appalachians have been destroyed... Along with an estimated one thousand miles of streams." Rudy Kelly is the main focus of this section; he was diagnosed with black lung cancer and he underwent multiple operations, although the doctors told him he was supposed to have died more than twenty years ago. He says, “I’m breathin’ because the profit margin is higher than the price of a man’s life.
One major threat is that coral reefs are under huge stress due to the impact that human activities are having and in fact already 1/5 of the world’s coral reefs are so damaged that they are beyond repair. The increase of average global temperatures is leading to an increased rate of ice cap melting. This is due to global warming, making a global threat to all ecosystems including the coral reef. The reason for this is that the melting of the ice caps releases more fresh water into the oceans, reducing salinity making sea level rise. Due to sea level rising coral reefs are getting destroyed, as they cannot survive in water above 25m.
Scientists warn that our rising temperatures could cause 20 - 30 percent of the Earth's animals to go extinct between now and 2050. Many animals homes and lives are being destroyed because of us being selfish and ignorant. Its not fare for these animals to suffer for ridiculous reasons such as not
Unfortunately this is what happened on March 24, 1989 in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Years ago Exxon Mobile Corporation was the world’s biggest oil company, carrying crude oil to places all over the world and today it is just another company who failure to handle the situation with honor and disastrous decisions ended in millions and millions of dead animals and fishermen. This paper will express and analyze The Exxon Valdez oil spill as well the damages it caused to the coastal environment along southern Alaska’s shore, issues in the case, court decision, and the significance of the oil spill. Exxon Valdez: Who? Bills?