- In the module, we talked about how human activity can influence/ pose a threat to biodiversity. Think about the people in your hometown. How do they influence biodiversity in a negative or a positive way? What actions pose a threat to biodiversity in your hometown? Are those actions ethical? Write a 250-300 word paragraph.
- In the module, we talked about a case study involving the Amazon Rain Forest. Deforestation here is a major issue. Make a system diagram showing the factors that contribute to tropical deforestation. Be sure to have at least five components.
- It is obvious that biodiversity is a major issue. However, why do you think it is? Do you think biodiversity matters because you simply care about the environment? Or does it matter more because lack of biodiversity can affect us humans? How can you contribute to conservation? If you do not think it is a big issue, why? Write a paragraph of 150-275 words.
1. The people in my hometown of Scranton, PA definitely influence biodiversity. I think that the human population in Scranton influences biodiversity more negatively than positively. In my area, people cut down trees (deforestation), pollute the air/water, and simply senselessly killing animals/chopping down trees (overharvesting) . For example, people clear woods all of the time in Scranton to build bigger and “better” restaurants and stores. People here constantly pollute the air i.e. by leaving their parked cars running causing CO2 to pollute the air (contributing to climate change) and dumping waste/ littering in bodies of water such as Lake Scranton. As for killing animals, hunting is a big deal in Pennsylvania in general. I understand that hunting is beneficial because it reduces over-population. But what I see in Scranton a lot is people killing animals for “fun” or chopping down trees for “fun.” All of these actions definitely pose a threat to biodiversity here because if a significant amount of people continue doing so, then it is possible for some species to become extinct/endangered. Moreover, most of these actions are not ethical. When people in Scranton cut down trees for selfish reasons (such as my area rebuilding Texas Roadhouse because it “wasn’t big enough”) they are not being ethical. People leaving their cars running in parking lots is not ethical because not only are they wasting gas, but they are polluting the environment. Littering and dumping waste into Lake Scranton is not ethical because that is also polluting the environment by killing animals (such as fish). Finally, senselessly chopping down trees and killing animals for the “heck of it” is definitely not ethical. If you don’t need to chop down trees (for shelter for example) or kill animals (for food possibly), then you do not need to be doing these things. People in Scranton are only negatively contributing to biodiversity.
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3. I think that biodiversity is important because every living thing was created and exists for a reason. I do think that it matters for ecocentric reasons because I do care about the existence of other living things. The world is a beautiful place, so why would we want to contribute to losing its diversity? As for thinking if biodiversity matters for anthropocentric reasons, yes I think it does. Us humans need biodiversity to survive. Without plants, for example, we would have no Oxygen to breathe. Just like the module states, “as more species go extinct, it becomes more likely for species to become extinct.” This is true, and this is why we need to learn to live peacefully with the environment (sustainability). Humans and the environment can live in harmony if we reduce some of the selfish actions we perform, like deforestation. Environment lover or not, this is YOUR world, and if biodiversity is lost, then YOU will be affected. We need the environment and the environment needs us, so why knowingly contribute to losing biodiversity? Personally, I can contribute to conservation of biodiversity by starting small. It’s the little things, like picking up litter, shutting the car engine off, etc. I can also educate people about the consequences of their actions to biodiversity. For example, if I saw a group of teenagers harming an animal, I would explain to them that their actions (although killing a little bird may seem minuscule to them) are contributing to threatening biodiversity. Once people are educated, they will not want to contribute negatively to biodiversity, but positively. Thus, a collective action will be formed.
Hi Julie, I am Laurene. I love your system diagram! You did a great job explaining the human-environmental interaction through this diagram, and I enjoyed how you elaborated and connected it to home. I also live in PA and have noticed the intensity of deforestation (although, I must admit it has declined, and more areas are protected now than before) and unnecessary pollution. You have a great sense of your place in your environment, and I saw your passion for the environment in your writing. It is sad to think that the unethical situations you see in your town spread through PA and take place across the globe! I also talked about deforestation in the rainforest in my post. I focused more on the community affect and protection, but you can it out below if it interests you http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/04/12/56173/.
Hi Julie! My name is Sophie Greene. Your blog post caught my attention because I live really close to your hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania. I am from Mountaintop, which is about twenty minutes away. In the first part of our assignment, we both focused on topics that threatened biodiversity in our area. We both touched on some of the same points. For example, in Mountaintop, deforestation and pollution from cars affects biodiversity negatively. If you want to see what else I wrote about in my blog, feel free to check it out. Here is the link:
http://sites.psu.edu/geog30/2016/04/12/module-10-sophia-greene/
Hi Julie! My name is Caren, feel free to check out my blog:
http://geog030.dutton.psu.edu/2016/04/12/module-10-biodiversity/
Your blog caught my attention because I really like how you organized your system diagram. It is easy to follow and really takes into account the major causes of biodiversity in the Amazon Rainforest. I find it fascinating that you think your hometown is actually negatively impacting biodiversity, but I think it’s great to be able to notice these negative impacts in order to hopefully improve on them. I agree with you that biodiversity is extremely important because that is what allows our whole world to survive. We all live off of each other and directly or indirectly affect one another. Although I addressed different issues in my blog, I found your blog really interesting.