Ecosystems & Habitat - Chapter 7

Ecosystems and Habitats around the globe are what sustains life on the planet, and thus are essential functions of the world for both human life and all other life to prosper. The very first paragraph of Chapter 7 in Robertsons' Sustainability Principles and Practice has an interesting quote to set off the tone of the rest of the chapter. The quote frames how bad our situation is and truly how dire the science says it is, and yet not nearly enough action is being taken to prevent or slow down the rising change in habitats and ecosystems around the globe. In the words of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment of 2005 which was quoted in Robertson's textbook:

"The state of the world’s ecosystems has changed more rapidly in the last 50 years than at any time in human history." 

 Robertson, M. (2017) p.110

 Unfortunately, this statement holds true and the fact of the matter is the situation will only deteriorate unless action is taken quickly. Currently, we are in the beginning stages of a mass extinction event. Some previous ones throughout history were caused by a variety of reasons ranging from volcanic activity to asteroid impacts. The current trend of extinction though is being perpetuated by industry and the releasing of greenhouse gasses that change the makeup of our atmosphere. Extinction rates are currently :

"Reaching 1000 times the background extinction rate, with species going extinct at a rate not seen in 65 million years" Robertson, M. (2017) p. 111.

This figure is truly a scary thing to witness happening and the general populace not taking it seriously is even more worrisome. Instead of perpetuating the mass extinction event underway, we should be promoting biodiversity in areas that have a vast amount of species in it. Areas such as the Amazon Rainforest which harbors thousands of species and is very reminiscent of the lungs of the Earth was recently caught on fire. The world watched it burn while the Brazilian administration did absolutely nothing to control it and some even say it was a direct result of the policies the Brazilian president wants to introduce. I believe that a bigger stance on the ecosystems around the world needs to be in place. A sole focus on humans has directly driven us towards the 6th mass extinction event in the history of the world, and that should begin changing sooner rather than later.

"Overexploitation is a sign that humans are spending Earth’s natural capital rather than living off its interest."

Robertson, M. (2017) p. 117 

This final quote was interesting to me because it tied in a concept that is heavily taught in my business courses while being used to describe overexploitation of our planet's resources. I really like how the author worded this quote, it was easier to understand what she was talking about while reading it and put into perspective how consumption of resources would ideally work in a sustainable culture. I understand though that throughout human history we've been taught to overexploit everything to either make a profit or survive, the nature of exploiting resources must change from now on so that it is prevented in the future and we can live sustainably.


Photo Sources: https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2017/09/21/mit-professor-predicts-earths-next-mass-extinction-to-begin-by-2100/#322b95456e57
http://landdegredationassignment.weebly.com/impact.html