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Endangered Species and What We Can Do

We've all read news stories and seen documentaries that describe the numbers of animal and plant species that are endangered or now extinct. These stories often highlight the reasons such wildlife are in danger or no longer around. Some stories may even go further to explain the ramifications of such loss. However, usually only the destruction of rainforests are mentioned in terms of the effects on humans (e.g., decreased oxygen, increased carbon dioxide, and ozone depletion). Occasionally, some stories mention as an afterthought what we can do to help reverse such harmful extinctions usually in terms of financial donations to some wildlife protection agency.

This article lists some of the species that are currently endangered and near extinction, the effects on humans and the environment, and ways in which each of us can help ensure our survival as a planet.

Extinction means the irreversible loss of a species. Related to extinction is the ecological concept of extirpation, the elimination of a given species from a geographic range. Prior to becoming extinct, a species is labeled endangered when their numbers become very low.

E.O. Wilson estimated 27,000 species are going extinct every year. In 1998, E.V. Futter drew attention to the fact that this so-called Sixth Extinction is the greatest in the Earth's four-billion-year-long history and Niles Eldredge warned of the grim consequences for the planetary gene pool and the future of biodiversity.

Why Are Species Becoming Extinct?

One reason many animals are becoming or have already become extinct is human hunting and poaching. Elephants are slaughtered simply for their two ivory tusks in order to make pretty little ornaments that adorn shelves intended to impress strangers. Baby seal's are bludgeoned for their tiny furs in order to make fashionable coats for rich people lacking in self-worth. Tigers, lions, and other beautifully coated mammals are hunted for the same inane reason seals are. Sharks are speared for their impressive jaws and bones for glory and to make herbal concoctions. Countless other animals are shot, killed, and hung on a wall as compensation for much smaller heads'.

Another reason for species decline is habitat destruction via city development and logging. Habitat depletion is by far the greatest cause of extinction. Conservatively, we are destroying tropical rainforests at a rate of 17 million hectares and losing 75 billion tons of topsoil annually from the

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