Greenpeace

“Extinct: 1. No longer existing in living or active form; having died out. 2 completely gone or destroyed; extinguished.” –American Heritage Dictionary

Ever since life has been found on earth, organisms have been dying and extinctions have occurred. Mass extinctions, however, are much less frequent, and far more destructive. I our present day, humans are witnessing a mass extinction. During the history of the Earth, there are only six recorded mass extinctions in Earth’s generous 4.6 billion year lifespan, the most recent taking place over 73,000 years ago. This extinction was due to the super-eruption of the Toba volcano, most Homo sapiens died during this time leaving only about 10,000 individuals on Earth. Though this is not considered one of the five mass extinctions, it was a major event and nearly eradicated the potential for evolution into present day humans.

When asked the question of whether we should care about the affects of human activity and whether we should care as long as the ones that we eat survive, I tend to think of two alternate questions. The first one involves re-defining “wildlife” in our minds and questioning whether the animals we eat can be considered “wildlife”. The second question is a two part question: Is the extinction occurring right now actually a natural cycle, or is it human induced? Could our effects on the environment lead to our own demise?

Answering my own question regarding food stocks, I do not believe that animals raised for the sole purpose of eating are considered wildlife. Around 12,000 years ago, it is believed that man first domesticated the dog. Domesticated animals never really know the hardships of the wild; they are raised, fed and bred in a sheltered environment. Stock animals, are even less privileged. They are raised for one purpose: for human consumption so in my mind, stock animals are not really animals, they are tools for human consumption. I’m not saying that it’s humane; I’m saying that these creatures can not survive in any other environment. It would be like trying to plug your toaster into a sink full of water. 

Moving to my second question, I definitely think that humans are causing most of the deaths in animals and plants. Humans have created an unsafe environment for organisms to function by industrializing, over populating, and polluting the Earth. If humans do not stop multiplying and destroying, the same thing will happen to us as is happening to the overpopulated rabbits in Tasmania. Tasmanian officials are planning to bait poisonous substances around the most populous areas to try to contain the rabbit population. Now, I don’t think that alligators and deer are going to start poisoning humans, but I think something, like a virus or a bacteria is going to wipe out huge populations of humans, especially since we are in such close quarters with each other. The Bubonic plague is a good example.

In conclusion, I do think that humans should care. Mainly because biodiversity could save our lives should a catastrophic event occur. Many species of endangered plants and animals have key ingredients for medicines and treatments. Biodiversity is the most wonderful thing the Earth has offered and it’s up to us to preserve it.