Habitat Destruction

"Habitat destruction is one of the biggest threats facing plants and animal species throughout the world. The loss of habitat has far-reaching impacts on the planet’s ability to sustain life, but even with the challenges, there is hope for the future.

Habitat destruction, defined as the elimination or alteration of the conditions necessary for animals and plants to survive, not only impacts individual species but the health of the global ecosystem."

https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2019/09/25/the-global-impacts-of-habitat-destruction/

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In most cases, we humans are the ones destroying the habitats many species need to live. We will be exploring the ethical and moral implications of destroying different habitats throughout the world.

Overview

Coral Reefs

Coral reefs are incredibly important to the world. Hosting up to over 7000 different species, coral reefs are some of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. Coral reefs not only give food and shelter to the thousands of species it hosts, but humans are also incredibly reliant on coral reefs. Coral reefs provide humans with economic benefits, food, and protection from weather related accidents. Over the recent years, coral reefs are being more heavily impacted by anthropocentric factors. The increasing amount of pollution, rising temperatures of the sea water, and algae bloom are all detrimental to the survival of coral reefs. If you haven't noticed, all of these issues stem from humans. We must recognize that coral reefs are demanding of a moral standing. They are deserving of a moral standing due to the fact that they are creatures of the natural world deserving the natural rights these creatures are born with, just like we humans are. On top of this, coral reefs have an intrinsic value in themselves--the intrinsic value of sustaining life for other creatures, increasing the biodiversity of the planet that we all rely on to survive. We as humans have an obligation to protect and conserve these incredibly diverse and fruitful ecosystems.

The Amazon

The Amazon rainforest is the largest rainforest on Earth, with the highest density of plant and animal species. This impressive area provides an essential ecological service that stores huge amounts of carbon that stabilize the world's rainfall patterns and mitigate climate change. Covering nine South American countries and 2.5 million square miles, the Amazon accounts for more than half of the remaining rainforests in the world. Humid, tropical plants extend from the eastern Atlantic Ocean to the western Andes Mountains, reflecting the high rainfall, high humidity, and high temperatures prevalent throughout the year. The 4,000 mile-long Amazon river is one of the longest rivers and it is also home to the largest number of freshwater fish species in the world. Humans have deforested 20% of the Amazon rainforest in the past 40 years alone, and an additional 20% are at risk of destruction. Agricultural expansion is the biggest threat to this ecosystem. Industrial agriculture, urban expansion, mining, oil extraction, dams, and irresponsible timber production have also caused massive forest losses. As deforestation continues and the impact of climate change intensifies, we risk losing this wonderful ecosystem for future generations.

Arctic Sea Ice

Arctic sea ice has major impacts in all parts of the world, not just in the direct Arctic. The melting of ice is causing the increase in sea levels worldwide. Since the late 1970's Arctic sea ice has seen a massive decline of over forty percent. While natural changes can and have caused some of this melt, humans are to blame for the bulk of ice melt. Although different countries all use the Arctic for research, there is not one nation that owns it, which could be a reason why the melting ice is not given much attention. However, the Arctic contains intriguing natural resources such as oil, which begins the arguments of whether extracting these resources, which would accelerate the melting, is ethically right.

The Desert

The last free flowing river in the world is in a desert climate situated between Sierra Vista, Arizona and Cananea Municipality, Sonora, Mexico, it’s called the San Pedro River. The unique ecosystem is shadowed by cottonwoods that provide necessary habitats for millions of migrating birds each year. It is one of two major rivers with northward flow out of Mexico into the United States and the last largest undammed rivers in the Southwestern United States. Multiple species of mammals, fish, reptiles, and amphibians call San Pedro River home. The mild climate temperatures around the San Pedro have enticed thousands of newcomers and in result for the past four decades increased development construction tenfold. Increasing demands to fill these homes and new developments with fresh accessible water for both domestic and irrigation usage is drastically lowering the water table. Recently, volunteers and ecological experts have discovered that parts of the San Pedro aren’t naturally flowing any more. This is a devastating blow to the already fragile ecosystem that is situated there. The river’s ecosystem has already been affected by a few malleable bellicose plant species with genetically evolved deeper root systems thronging out the native shallow stream residing cottonwood plants. A few animal species have already started to suffer as the water is drawn deeper underground instead of having shallow water available always. With new construction projects looming and an increase flux of human residents, this ecosystem is at risk of being destroyed by the river disappearing completely.

The Authors

Chase Dale Jonghyeok Byeon Jit Roopra Sophie Savvides

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