Hector Lopez
5/07/13 English 114B One Serious Issue of the Human Race Our world seems to be more important to some people than others. Some countries take care of it more than others and some care more about the preservation of the planet and containing it the way it was when we first came to existence in this beautiful planet of ours called Earth. Unfortunately, as previously mentioned, people also don’t have a care in the world about what happens to our home. Those same people, however, seem to lack the knowledge about how whatever anti- environment action they may be taking might not affect them in the near future but will definitely cause some serious damage to the survival of the human race. There are many things wrong with what we are doing here on earth and we should be more sensitive to these issues. Because of such actions that we humans are deciding to take, there are many species in the in danger of extinction list. This should be more important to us, so why isn’t it? Bees for example, are one of the many species on Earth that have a lot to do with our survival. They pollinate the crops for us and help them grow, they create honey which is a very useful tool, especially for making Tea when you are sick. Our existence is vital to their survival and their existence is vital to our survival. Many of us, however, overlook the importance of these species, just like we overlook the simple and meaningful things in life. The only thing that seems to be the solution for this dilemma, is for people to actually educate themselves and realize the horrible problem we humans are blindly facing. According to Lisa W. Foderaro, “ because of habitant loss, climate change and other factors the world faces a possibility of mass extinction similar to the one that wiped the dinosaurs off the face of the planet”(Foderaro). We have to take measures to help save our planet as well as ourselves. Dr Samper, in Foderaro’s article, said “I’ve spent the last 30 years of my life studying wildlife, and many of the cloud forests that I once did research on are now gone—literally”(Foderaro). It’s a big loss in our species which were created for a reason and based on our choices are being wiped out. This is definitely not the reason why they came to be. People may think that are taking the right measures to prevent species form being extinct and lost forever, but are they the right measures? How effective are these solutions? “Today, among its five parks in New York City, we are housing 84,409 mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates and fish representing 1,130 species. It’s part of a 500 conservation program cover two million square miles across the globe” (Foderaro). Having Zoos definitely help preserve certain species. We might be able to save some after all, however, are zoos taking the proper measurements to protect those species and actually have them raised properly and in the right environment? Zoos are actually deciding to make the mock environments more fit to the real thing, however due to lack of space they can only house so many species. How would the Zoo’s decide which species to house and which ones to boot out? Based on opinion, Zoo’s should stop making their environment for entertainment purposes and do what they are meant to do, make the right environments, house certain animals in one zoo and certain animals in another. Some may say, what about lack of funds? Well, people will still have to pay to get into the zoos plus they are usually funded by organizations or they can fundraise, make events and raise awareness. This, seems to be a more effective way to go about saving species than the solutions that are under action now, there is obviously something wrong with those methods if they are not working. According to Foderaro, ‘the Wildlife Conservation Society has signed an agreement with the governments of Nations like Chile and Madagascar to address issues of conservation, land management, research, environmental education and carbon offsets” (Foderaro). This is actually a big deal to the survival of the species in danger. If this is a success and these governments actually do what they said they will then there will actually be hope to some species. Now what measures will those countries actually make to the preservation of species, how are they affected and does it make a difference? It makes all the difference in the world, but the stakes are too high to do the work with half the effort. Following treaties like the one previously mentioned makes all the difference, there is definitely a difference between words and actions. After all, actions speak louder than words. Now what about for the smaller animals, insects and plants? Let’s take the extinction of bees as the example. Many countries today, especially Europe are looking into making a treaty and have actually banned the use of such pesticides that are harmful to the animals and insects that make life as a human way easier. The E.U are the ones responsible for making this ban, however, it seems to be that not all countries in the European Union actually agree with this treaty. Countries like the United Kingdom see this as a bad blow to the economic wealth of the country. How much of a hit is it really though? Countries argue that it will get rid of the jobs that people have of making the chemicals and those that are in charge of delivering the chemicals onto the fields. Not only this but it will be much tougher on our crops because flies and other pesky insects will get in the way of the quantity of the crops grown and delivered each year, not to mention the amount of time it will take for them to grow without having birds peck at the crops and without having to care much for the crops that are grown. While I agree that this is a good, well intended concern, I must disagree with how valid and appropriate the facts are in them. According to an article published on the Ecoyards website, “Communities across Canada which already have pesticide restrictions have enjoyed a major expansion of their lawn care sector” (Ecoyards). Lawn care contains flowers and certain crops that are grown on gardens, seems to be that this ban is nothing but a great idea. Ecoyards says that, “in the five years following a pesticide ban in Halifax the number of lawn care firms in the city grew from 118 to 180 -an increase of 53 percent, according to Statistics in Canada” (Ecoyards). Clearly this method isn’t harming the economy, in fact it is creating more jobs, creating man handled yards from firms instead of just spraying pesticides around, not to mention a more natural beauty on the landscape. Ecoyards also mentions that the number of employees in the sector also grew, not to mention that, Stats Can also reports the number of landscaping and lawn care businesses in Toronto has grown each year since its ban. Countries should be embracing this pesticide free method of care, it is healthier, helps keep species alive, not to mention that it creates jobs! Are we not in a recession and in need of financial wealth? People may still be asking themselves, why does the non-toxic method help the economy, why do we need specialist to take care of our gardens and crops, can’t we handle our own garden instead of paying other to do it? Well one reason is, it relies less on chemicals and more on workers so it creates local jobs in the field. “It also requires some specialized knowledge of plant and soil ecology which homeowners often lack -hence their increased reliance on organic professionals” (Ecoyards). Health citizens should be a priority to each country and state. That alone should be a huge reason to ban these pesticides. “Scientists have long told us that pesticides are associated with cancer (such as non-Hodgkins lymphoma), neurological illness (such as Parkinson’s disease), and birth defects” (Ecoyards). It’s possible that countries don’t feel responsible because they aren’t major farming countries so they don’t use many pesticides. This, however, is wrong, pesticides are used for many different crops and many different purposes not just farming. In fact, pesticides are always used on common gardens. According to Carrignton “No wonder the UK finds itself, with Germany, isolated among the EU's major nations. France, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands - all major farming nations - all back the Commission's proposed suspension of neonicotinoids on flowering crops like oil seed rape” (Carrington). This is not the right argument because pesticides are used on more than just farming, and in fact, bees hang around everywhere and anywhere, pesticides are carried around in the air and bees are always being exposed to them. Many can argue that we, humans, don’t really need bees. In fact, people say that when it comes down to pollinating, bees aren’t the only pollinators out in the field. While this is partially true, it must be said that bees are major pollinators and if they are gone the pollination cycle will take a big downfall. According to wikia.com “The fact is that of the 100 crop species that provide 90 per cent of the world’s food, over 70 are pollinated by bees” (Wikia.com). The cold fact that we must face is our dependency on certain animals in this planet. We must care more about the species extinction list, especially since it affects us as well. According to wikia.com “It is true that much of human existence is presently dependent on honey bees and food production would decline, but not completely disappear” (wikia.com). Although food production will not disappear, it will definitely affect the quantity of food production making it somewhat more difficult to find. Now, why would we put ourselves in that position? Wikia.com says that “most plants depend on insects like bees to pollinate them, those plants which are entirely dependent on bees would gradually die off without reproducing, unless some other animal inserted themselves into that biological niche”(wikia.com). Many plants depend on bees, plants and trees that provide oxygen for us, we are already loosing oxygen through deforestation, why would humanity do something else to get rid or diminish the amount of oxygen available? It is, after all, one of the most valuable and vital things in life! However, if an insistence of bees not being needed continues, they are not the only ones being affected by pesticides. According to ecologist.org, “In one staggering case in Linden, California, in 1990, the carcases pesticide took the lives of 30 mourning doves, 100 American robins, 200 European starlings, red-winged blackbirds and grackles, and 700-800 goldfinches, sparrows and house finches which were recovered from a field following an application of liquid carbofuran” (ecologist). Birds are big time pollinators as well, we can’t afford to be harming these animals. It seems to be that The US is leading a ban in pesticides as well as they should. According to the ecologist, “Despite lobbying from the pesticide industry, the US Environmental Protection Agency has said it will continue with a ban on the toxic insecticide carbofuran” (ecologist). This is a very positive step towards a better future, however, the banning of pesticides must expand to other countries, it is very important to the conservation of species. Animals need to breath like us, they too, need oxygen. With that being said, they need for bees and pollinators to stay alive as well. It is a negative domino effect that is taking place in current times, one species will die out and then all the species that are in need of that species is going to disappear, and species that depend on those species will die out and on and on and on. We need to realize that we all need each other and us humans, are a huge problem to our own survival. We don’t seem to care at the moment since it is currently not directly affecting us but one day it will, if we don’t make a change. Works Cited Carrington, Damian. "Why the UK Will Fail to Block an EU Ban on Bee-Harming Pesticides." Why the UK Will Fail to Block an EU Ban on Bee-Harming Pesticides. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 May 2013. "Experience Shows Pesticide Ban Is Good for Economy." Seattle Landscape, Seattle Landscaping, Seattle Lawn Care. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 May 2013. <http://www.ecoyards.com/experience-shows-pesticide-ban-good-for-economy/>. Foderaro, Lisa. "Taking up a Missio to Protect the Birds and the Beasts." NY Times (2012): 15. Web. Apr.-May 2013. "Life Without Bees." Wikia. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2013. < http://future.wikia.com/wiki/Life_without_bees>. "Toxic Insecticide Carbofuran Banned in US." The Ecologist. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 May 2013. Website |
HERE IS A COPY OF MY FIRST DRAFT TO THIS ESSAY
Hector Lopez 4/28/13 English 114B One Serious Issue of the Human Race Our world seems to be more important to some people than others. Some countries take care of it more than others and some care more about the preservation of the planet and containing it the way it was when we first came to existence in this beautiful planet of ours called Earth. Unfortunately, as previously mentioned, people also don’t have a care in the world about what happens to our home. Those same people, however, seem to lack the knowledge about how whatever anti- environment action they may be taking might not affect them in the near future but will definitely cause some serious damage to the survival of the human race. There are many things wrong with what we are doing here on earth and we should be more sensitive to these issues. One such issue is the extinction of bees. Bees are one of the many species on Earth that have a lot to do with our survival. Our existence is vital to their survival and their existence is vital to our survival. Many people don’t realize that they are important and overlook them, just as they overlook the little things in life. The only thing that seems to be the solution for this dihlema, is for people to actually educate themselves and realize the horrible problem we humans are blindly facing. According to Lisa W. Foderaro “ because of habitant loss, climate change and other factors the world faces a possibility of mass extinction similar to the one that wiped the dinosaurs off the face of the planet”(Foderaro). We have to take measurements to help save our planet as well as ourselves. Dr Samper in Foderaro said “I’ve spent the last 30 years of my life studying wildlife, and many of the cloud forests that I once did research on are now gone—literally”(Foderaro). It’s a big loss in our species which were created for a reason and based on our choices are being wiped out. We seem to be taking the right measures to prevent species form being extinct and lost forever, but are they the right measures? “ Today, among its five parks in New York City, the society houses 84,409 mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates and fish representing 1,130 species. It’s part of a 500 conservation program cover two million square miles across the globe” (Foderaro). Having Zoos definitely help preserve certain species. We might be able to save some after all, however, are zoos taking the proper measurements to protect those species and actually have them raised properly and in the right environment? According to Foderaro, the Wildlife Conservation Society has signed an agreement with the governments of Nations like Chile and Madagascar to address issues of conservation, land management, research, environmental education and carbon offsets”(Foderaro). This is actually a big deal to the survival of the species in danger. If this is a success and these governments actually do what they said they will then there will actually be hope to some species. Now what measures will those countries actually make to the preservation of species, how long will it take and will it actually make a difference? |