The link provided will give more detail... but basically we are living in the midst of one (if not the) most thorough period of mass extinction ever on the earth. The scholars agree, across the board, that this due primarily to human activity. Eventually the extinction will have very negative effects on humans as well. It is an often overlooked disaster. What can be done to curtail this problem. Please use as many words as you need to explain yourself and provide links to plans to solve this problem.
http://www.well.com/user/davidu/...
2007-10-16 21:28:02 · 10 answers · asked by Richie Paine 2 in Environment ➔ Conservation
corrected link:
http://www.well.com/user/davidu/extinction.html
http://www.well.com/user/davidu/extinction.html
http://www.well.com/user/davidu/extinction.html
2007-10-16 22:59:01 · update #1
To solve a problem, you have to find root cause and you have your answer:
1. Human overpopulation
2. Human impact on environment - burning and clear cutting forests, acid rain, toxic run off into lakes rivers and oceans, urban sprawl, overgrazing, farming, the list is endless.
3. Human consumption and garbage
Politicians do not want to impose any regulations, because of voter repercussion. Fist, you have to educate the masses. Northern Europeans are light years ahead of the USA. Simple things, like banning manicured lawns for natural growing flower fields would cut toxic run of from fertilizers down to 20% of current levels, enough to save our rivers and lakes.
2007-10-17 02:26:32 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
We don't need to. It's survival of the fittest and if other life forms want to stick around they better evolve.
The only reason to even care about it means that we have some sort of responsiblity for the earth. But do we? If evolution is taking it's course then there is no responsiblity.
People are innovative, our species will go on despite mass extinction.
But of course there is responsiblity. Because it's not evolution that brought us here. Human beings are stewards over the earth and its life. Curbing human population is not the answer, becoming vegiterians isn't either. God created the earth with suffienct resources and enough to spare. But we will be accountable before God for the discharge of our stewardships.
But that doesn't mean we shouldn't use our resources, just use them wisely. That doesn't mean we should control family size or limit human age, because there are plenty of resources.
2007-10-17 07:54:05 · answer #2 · answered by J.J. 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well ... you may not like my answer but it is the most simple and straight forward answer and has the most direct positive impact. However ... who's got the guts to carry through with it.
Basically there are over 7 billion people on earth. I don't have the exact stats on this, but 100 years ago there was less than 1 billion. 500 years ago there was less than 500 million.
It isn't that humans are more distructive today than 1,000 years ago ... its just that there are so many more of us around.
In order to maintain world populations at current levels, the entire world needs to adopt a 1 child or 2 child family limits.
On top of that ... we need to stop making medical advances so that the older generation do not live longer than nature designed. So ... no new cures for anything (cancer, MS, etc etc).
With human race population curtailed ... the rest of the animal kingdom might still have a chance.
2007-10-16 21:38:12 · answer #3 · answered by jyipdragon 3 · 3⤊ 1⤋
As I see it, there are two basic personality types: Type I sees 'unagreeable' things as a challenge to be corrected by mankind. This includes pollution, overpopulation, wars, mass extinctions, weather phenomenon, global warming, global economic shifts, etc.
Type II sees these things as an inevitable cycle. Things that always have been, and always will be.
Type I's run around, identifying the 'problems' and saying "We must do something about (fill in the blank)".
Type II's know that the pendulum swings both ways. Just when something looks bleakest, it begins its correction.
Type I's either run for public office or run for cover.
Type II's enjoy life, leaving the inevitable problems and their inevitable correction in the very capable hands of God.
2007-10-17 04:34:34 · answer #4 · answered by davidosterberg1 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I am afraid the first answer is the best. Yes, our intelligence has put ourselves and the entire planet at risk. We create medicines to prolong life, cars that pollute and agricultural systems that produce more food(bioengineering) and ripen faster. These all seem good in the short term and actually temporarily make our lives easier(last 150 years), but these seemingly great inventions and discoveries are actually the root causes of what is killing us. We want medicinces to become semi immortal and thereby cheat death, leaving the burden of our presence on the already tired planet. We feel as though we are above the earth and that someday we should be able to bend the natural laws so that we become gods in ourselves. This may seem eccentric or far fetched, but I ask you to take a long look at our damaging ways and why it is that we do them.
2007-10-17 07:06:16 · answer #5 · answered by kermmit_de_frog 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
since the current mass extinction is caused primarily by human activity, the most efficient way would be to reduce harmful human activity significantly.
but that option requires that the human species curtail itself, and that, of course, could not be performed by positive action of humans.
so, the process of mass extinction will continue, until something causes so much damage to the ecology of our world, to make us humans extinct.
but I'm afraid this modern "Deluge" will occur after almost every species of life, except for humans, is extinct.
2007-10-16 22:29:23 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Stop the meat factories (basically everyone go vegan), stop our dependence on oil/gas power and change everything to solar, wind, water, ect... power, remove the monetary system as a form of control in the world and replace it with a credit system where everyone is alloted a certain amount of credit to be able to have the basics; food, water, shelter.... and to have more they would have to work for it and receive more credit. Main reason for removing our dependence on money would be because money is a source of greed, control, power, and corruption!
That would be a start to fixing the issues of the world including to help in reducing mass extinction.
2007-10-17 04:45:48 · answer #7 · answered by Kevin C 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Judging my the news, I think World War 3 will take care of the problem pretty soon.
2007-10-17 14:56:04 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Mass extinction? We are discovering new species every week. Not just insignificant little bugs, but large mammals, large fish, birds, amphibians, plants, and flowers.
To say that there is an extinction underway is to be very selective about the facts.
2007-10-16 21:39:46 · answer #9 · answered by Dr Jello 7 · 1⤊ 4⤋
We should look out and if we see extincting coming run the other way.
2007-10-17 00:42:47 · answer #10 · answered by vladoviking 5 · 0⤊ 4⤋