For the global issues blog, I chose to blog about the global issue called Biodiversity. Biodiversity goes hand in hand with climate change and global warming, two new imminent threats to our society caused by humans and inefficient use of products, and less social conscience. Due to global warming, habitats are destroyed which causes the extinction of many species as can be shown with the polar bears and other animals that live in the Arctic. I believe that if global warming could be curved, biodiversity could be saved even if a little bit because every day scientists are discovering new types of species. In general, Biodiversity refers to the variety of life forms in our planet: the different plants, animals and microorganims, and the ecosystems they form. You might ask, why is biodiversity in our life important? Its not like anyone would mind if those pesky mosquitoes went away, would it? But in all reality it does matter because every living organism in the planet contributes something special or important for the existence of a healthy planet and our own well being. . You may not be aware of the benefits biodiversity provides. Biodiversity provides us with so many benefits such as; food, medicinal product, wood, protection of water sources, and much more! As an example, honeybees provide many benefits to us. As said in the article, "One third of all our food- fruits and vegetables- would not exist without pollinators visiting flowers." Another problem facing biodiversity is extinction of species. The cause of this is that when there are not enough variety of genes for production, there is in-breeding which increase the chance of extinction. Because we destroy habitats for these species, they have a slim chance of being able to "interact with species with a large gene pool." I think that people and the government could do a better job in getting funding for the protection of biodiversity, but it is apparently a hard thing to try to make people want to "save worms and other species that many people do not know of." Also, since the . In addition, biodiversity increases ecosystem productivity because every type of species is just as important as the next. The contributions of Biodiversity and the importance of preserving the species that make it up can be described by, "At least 40 percent of the world's economy and 80 percent of the needs of the poor are derived from biological resources. In addition, the richer the diversity of life, the greater the opportunity for medical discoveries, economic development, and adaptive responses to such new challenges as climate change." As illustrated above, biodiversity clearly helps the world in ways many people do not appreciate. I for one, think that people should educate the world on this subject and show that, it's not only about the cute animals in danger of extinction that need saving, its the ones that do the work behind-the-scenes. Furthermore, I think that if the ecosystems deteriorate to a small amount, then the problems resulting can be very costly to reverse or undue. From this, I believe that the cost of the effects of endangering biodiversity is much more costly than the maintenance and sustainable development practices that could be used instead. So, next time choose paper instead of plastic, its the little things in life that add up, that can determine the fate of our world. MLA:
Shah, Anup. "Why is Biodiversity important? Who cares?" Global Issues. 14 June 2008. 8 Mar 2009. <http://www.globalissues.org/article/170/why-is-biodiversity-important-who-cares>.
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