Main Factors That Contribute To Endangered Species

Many different kinds of species have been struggling to survive recently, and it is because of humanity. Humanity has severely put these animals at risk due to pollution and global warming. Typically, a person’s first priority is not to choose what the best option for the environment would be. Usually, people just choose what is going to be most convenient for them. After looking at pollution, global warming, and the statistics surrounding what is being impacted, it is clear that humanity is to blame for endangered animals.

Pollution is one of the main factors that contribute to endangered species. Humans have polluted the air, water, and land, which is resulting in animals losing their natural habitats. Firstly, the air that people and animals are inhaling is polluted. Air pollution is created when everyday items are letting out gases that are not healthy to breathe in (Bradford 3). Resources that people use every day are polluting the environment little by little. This happens when coal, natural gas, and oils are burned (“Air Pollution” 1). Some businesses have to burn coal in order to have electricity in their buildings, and that is letting out toxic gases into the environment, which will affect the lifestyle of most animals. Driving cars are known for polluting the environment as well. “Car exhaust contains soot particles, hydrocarbon, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide”(Rambo 1). All these chemicals combined create something called benzene, which is extremely harmful to plants and animals (Rambo 1). Benzene creates particles that can interfere with an animal’s breathing, it can also ruin their lungs, and cause cancer. The particles also disable plants from doing photosynthesis (Rambo 2). Water is also being affected poorly, and it’s because people are not considering the health of the animals in it. Water pollution is when water is being affected by dangerous objects spilling into it (Bradford 2). It also is polluted by boats, since most boats run off gasoline and the gas gets let out into the water, leaving the sea animals around it suffering. “Some 80 percent of the world’s wastewater is dumped -largely untreated- back into the environment, polluting rivers, lakes, and oceans” (Denchak 2). When waste gets dumped into bodies of water the animals living there are not smart enough to know to leave it alone and it can actually be extremely harmful to them if they happen to eat it or have it get stuck on their legs. A few years ago a gray whale was found dead, and inside the whale, they found more than twenty plastic bags, golf balls, and lots of other garbage (Reddy 1). Even some of the biggest sea creatures are not able to survive from a plastic bag. Most sea creatures rely on each other for food sources, sea turtles rely on eating jellyfish or algae, but a plastic bag can look like a jellyfish underwater (“What do sea turtles eat? Unfortunately plastic bags 2). When sea turtles mistake plastic bags for jellyfish it will lead to something unfortunate. Land pollution is another main reason why animals are struggling to live, and it is because of humanity as well. Land pollution is when land is being affected by garbage not being disposed of correctly. Most of this garbage is not safe to have just laying around (Bradford 1-2). When the garbage is not disposed of correctly and is just left lying around somewhere it is not safe for animals because most of them are not smart enough to know to leave it alone. When animals get ahold of it, it could get stuck on a wing or leg and not allow them to move or they might even eat and that can disable them from breathing. People’s trash can also create unhealthy gases that will eventually absorb into the ground (O’Donnel 2). These toxic gases can possibly harm the animal that breathes it in, and since it is absorbing into the ground it can affect the way that plants are growing as well. Plants are not only struggling to grow, but they are also just being destroyed. People just take out what they have to so that they can put in new buildings or houses whenever it is necessary. , “…it has consumed remote landscapes with houses and other structures.” So even plants are becoming endangered by humanity (“Top 10 U.S. Endangered Species Threatened By Human Population” 2). There are also many animals that rely on plants and trees to survive and when people are changing that into places to live for example it is slowly leaving these animals without a place to live (“Top 10 U.S. Endangered Species Threatened By Human Population” 3-4).

Global warming also has a large impact on species becoming endangered or even extinct. Global warming can be defined as, “the overall warming of Earth’s climate at an accelerated pace” (“Global Warming and Climate Change” 2). This means that Earth is not staying as a consistent temperature and it is changing dramatically. For example, colder parts of the world are getting hit poorly from global warming. The ice structures and glaciers are melting since it is getting warmer out, due to global warming (“Global Warming and Climate Change” 3). Due to the melting ice, the water levels have risen 0.12 inches over time (Bradford 3). Global warming has done much more than affect the glaciers. It also has resulted in the effect of rising sea levels, heatwaves, and severe rainstorms that can disrupt animal habitats (MacMillan 5). Climate change disrupts the animals’ habitats the most because some animals can only survive in certain weather conditions. The temperature changing will eventually confuse the animals and they will suffer from that. There are many different reasons why global warming is going on and why the Earth is slowly getting worse. Most of it leads back to humanity causing this destruction. For example, “…human influences are the number one cause of global warming, especially the carbon pollution we cause by burning fossil fuels and the pollution- capturing we prevent by destroying forests” (Denchak 2). People choose the option that is going to be the easiest for them and get what they need to get done faster. The burning of coal is one of the biggest causes of global warming in this atmosphere (MacMillan 3). When people burn coal it lets off toxic gases that are not safe for the environment and can change the way plants grow or work. Global warming is also affecting the temperatures and because of humanity temperatures will not stay consistent anywhere in the world (“The Effects of Climate Change” 3). It will go from being warm one day to chilly the next. When the weather starts to warm up water will start to evaporate leaving animals that rely on the water with nothing (“The Causes of Climate Change” 3). The same goes for when it gets cold unexpectedly, it can freeze up when they need that water to live. There are many different animals that are being affected by global warming. Many of them are having to change the way they live trying to save themselves from global warming (Denchak 5). For example, the golden toad has recently gone extinct due to drought and changes in the climate (Dell’amore 2). They were unable to keep up with how much the climate was changing and how water was drying up in places. Also since the weather is constantly changing the quiver tree is not able to grow (Dell’amore 2). The tree is in an unstable environment and cannot stand to live in it. Not only is the Earth just warming up but the ocean is warming up as well due to humanity. With the ocean warming up it is not safe for coral reefs and it causes diseases (“How does climate change affect coral reefs?” 1).

There are lots of statistics that are supporting what is going on. Many of these outcomes are being affected by humanity not making the correct choices. One of the biggest reasons animals and plants are going extinct is because of humans. Humans have ruined 83% of mammals and 50% of plants, it would take millions of years to recover from (Carrington 2). Humans take out whatever they need or want to satisfy themselves or others even. For example, “Three-quarters of all land on Earth is now significantly affected by human activities” (Carrington 2). This has gone on for years and years and there is no way to completely stop it. On the animal perspective of it,

“Of the birds left in the world, 70% are poultry chickens and other farmed birds. And of the mammals left in the world, 60% are livestock, 36% are pigs and a mere 4% are wild” (Sanchez 2). Not only are animals being affected on the land, but they are also being affected in the water. Sixty-three percent of all the bodies of water are being affected by global warming (Dahlman 3). That is leaving the animals struggling to live as the bodies of water are changing. More and more animals and plants are becoming an endangered species. An endangered species is when something is at high risk of becoming non-existent, their habitat is in poor condition and they have a chance of going extinct (“Endangered Species” 1). Progressively each species is finding its way to extinction. “Scientists estimate we’re now losing species at 1,000 to 10,000 times the background rate…” (“11 Facts About Endangered Species” 2). Knowing this, it is hard not to consider the factors that are playing into the disappearance of so many species. Forty percent of animals are close to going extinct due to humanity. Some animals include the sperm whale, orangutan, African wild dog, and the northern white rhinoceros (“List of Endangered Species” 1-2). With this only being a slight percentage of the many animals going extinct, something had to be done. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 was made to help the species that struggled to maintain habitat and life, (Bradford 1) Although this act plays a huge role in keeping animals safe, there are actions that can be taken by people around the world to help out. People are starting to slowly see what is going on in the world and want to do something about it. The amount of people who care about what is going on has increased by eight percent and these people have begun taking action (“Scientists Agree: Global Warming is Happening and Humans are the Primary Cause” 3). If society wants our world to be a safer living environment actions are going to be needed to reduce the number of burning coal people use and look into safer options (MacMillan 6). By doing this, it will create safer air to breathe by reducing the amount of air pollution. Along with this, instead of driving everywhere, walk because cars let out toxic gases that are not healthy for the environment (Almanelh 2-3). Lastly, People should also refrain from buying items made out of plastic or items that have limited resources left (Almanelh 2). When finding a way to shop without plastic bags, it minimizes the chance of it harming animals. By doing all of this, a clear resolution will be in place.

After looking at pollution, global warming, and the statistics surrounding what is being impacted, it is clear that humanity is to blame for endangered animals, but there are ways to resolve this. Although humans are the cause of pollution, global warming and the extinction of animals, by taking action and being mindful, the human race can try to reverse the negative consequences that are to come.