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Eddie (Anh Dang)

Professor Rodriguez

English 101

23 April 2019

Animal Extinction: A Domino Effect

Annihilates All Life on Earth

Our planet is now in the midst of its sixth mass extinction of plants and animals. When

those last mass extinctions happened, our planet’s biodiversity didn’t bounce back for more than

ten million years. And, unlike with previous extinctions, there's no hope that biodiversity will

ever recover, since the cause of this mass extinction—us—is here to stay. As we know, the

extinction of an animal species occurs when there are no more individuals of that species alive

anywhere in the world. And when extinction happens at a much faster rate than usual, it’s known

as a mass extinction. But why do we have to care about the extinction of some random species

such as passenger pigeon, Javan tiger, Western black rhino and sea mink? Because, no matter

how unpopular they are, every single one is a part of the ecosystem that we’re all living in. And

due to human activities alone, many animal species are being pushed to the edge of extinction. If

we continue to neglect human-caused animal extinction, nature will lose its balance which will

cause a domino effect that can annihilate all life on Earth.

Human beings consume with a voracious and insatiable appetite is a cause of the

problem. However, many people, such as Henry Lamb, the executive vice president of the

Environmental Conservation Organization, say that extinction is a natural part of evolution and

we shouldn’t care about it. In some cases, predators became more powerful and plentiful than the

animals on which they prey. And it’s natural when human beings, an animal, use other animal
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species to improve our quality of life. But we are consuming natural resources at an

unprecedented rate and solve environmental problems with temporary solutions. We chop down

trees more than we plant, we hunt animals more than they can give birth to and we hurt our

planet when it’s not healed yet. For example, wildlife trade is one of the greatest threats faced by

animals around the world (Goodall). Because of fashion, traditional medicine, souvenirs, and

trophy hunting, human beings are destroying natural selection processes. When we hunt for a

trophy, we choose the strongest, when we look for a fur coat, we choose the most beautiful.

Those alpha animals should be alive and pass their genes on to future generations. We stop the

evolving, thriving and surviving of many animal species because of our uncontrolled actions

(Goodall). And not only that individual species are being destroyed, but the entire ecosystem also

faces the same destiny, and that includes human beings.

We are putting more pressures on wildlife by creating more waste and polluting the land,

water, and air. “More natural resources will be used, as more forests are cut down, and more

wetlands are drained” (Maruska). According to the article ‘Extinction Is a Serious Problem’,

many scientists say that many rain forests of South America, Asia, and Africa—continue to see

tremendous pressures on their natural resources. At one time, 25 percent of the world's land

surface was rain forests. Today that figure is 6 percent, yet the pressure is continuing. “With the

continuing destruction of rain forests, it seems quite likely we could lose 100 plant and animal

species a day as we approach the next millennium.” (Maruska). And without proper shelter,

enough amount of food that they used to have in their forests, wetlands, etc., many species would

be in serious trouble. Many of them would not survive, those which are lucky would have to

migrant into a new environment. For example, when the forest habitat is declining, it’s the

beginning of an inevitable contact between organisms that have not evolved together, which
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could lead to many unprecedented things. “We have gotten AIDS from apes, SARS from civets,

and Ebola from fruit bats.” (Coyne). I think people still remember how bad those diseases are

and I believe that we don’t want to face another dreadful plague ever again.

The other environmental factor that contributes to animal extinctions is global warming,

which is mostly due to humans’ activities. According to Geoffrey Lean, “Arctic sea ice has lost

almost half its thickness in recent decades.” The seas are gradually turning more and more acid

because the oceans have absorbed more carbon dioxide, which later harms corals, shells and

other marine life. Some scientists predict that the world's coral reefs will die within 35 years

(Lean). But why is it so important to care about? In Maruska’s article, he referred to the smaller

species of animals as the "small parts" of an ecosystem. In his view, they are just as important as

the larger species, as us, human beings, because when you start to remove a species from an

ecosystem, you break the natural balance formed over millions of years and initiate a domino

effect all down the line. For example, because of global warming, sand eels left its environment

and led to the collapsing of bird populations in the North Sea in 2004. We see another example

in Jerry Coyne’s article, which states that the complicated aquatic food web could collapse

because of the overfishing which eliminates major predators and polluted water which kills

phytoplankton, the first link in the food chain. That means we have to say goodbye to fish.

Not only is a link in the ecosystem, but any animal species also serves a direct purpose on

medicine. Who really cares if, say, a worm in the remote swamps of French Guiana goes extinct?

According to Jerry Coyne, a rare South American leech contributes a strong enzyme that, unlike

other anticoagulants, not only prevents blood from clotting but also dissolves existing clots. A

more popular case is the blue whale. We learned that blue whale is the single largest animal on

Earth and have a wonderful body that develops cancer at a vastly lower rate than would be
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expected given the number of cells they have. We wouldn’t know the secret behind that and if it

can be applied to humans. The only thing we know is that we would lose the opportunity to

acknowledge that useful information if the blue whale species extinct.

That’s why we have to work on solutions to stop animal extinction due to human causes.

By cutting energy waste, using more renewable sources, growing trees and crops (which remove

carbon dioxide from the air) to turn into fuel, and capturing the gas before it is released from the

power station, we slow down global warming, which is a cause of the problem. And by

educating people around the world, we can build respect for life and an appreciation of animals

for what they are, not what use they are to us. We must build an appetite for conservation, not

consumption. Because of animals’ economic value and their effects on our quality of life, or just

simply morality we have to act if we don’t want to face the bleak future when humanity finally

faces the consequences of what we have done to nature: not just another Great Dying, but

perhaps the greatest dying of them all.

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Works Cited

Coyne, Jerry, and Hopi E. Hoekstra. "Mass Species Extinction Poses a Serious

Threat." Biodiversity, edited by Louise Gerdes, Greenhaven Press, 2010. At

Issue. Opposing Viewpoints in

Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010602205/OVIC?u=monroecc&sid=O

VIC&xid=63ff05a6. Accessed 23 Apr. 2019. Originally published as "The Greatest

Dying," The New Republic, 24 Sept. 2007.

Goodall, Jane. "Hunting Contributes to Animal Species Extinction." Hunting, edited by Dawn

Laney, Greenhaven Press, 2008. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in

Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010504219/OVIC?u=monroecc&sid=O

VIC&xid=9b87b6b3. Accessed 22 Apr. 2019. Originally published as "Wildlife Trade Is

Driving Species to Extinction," International Herald Tribune, 13 Oct. 2004.

Lamb, Henry. "The Extinction of Plants and Animals Is Not a Problem." Conserving the

Environment, edited by Debra Miller, et al., Greenhaven Press, 2006. Current

Controversies. Opposing Viewpoints in

Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010040242/OVIC?u=monroecc&sid=O

VIC&xid=e200366f. Accessed 22 Apr. 2019. Originally published as "Repeal the

ESA," www.worldnetdaily.com, 2001.

Lean, Geoffrey. "Global Warming Poses a Serious Threat." Global Warming, edited by Cynthia

A. Bily, Greenhaven Press, 2006. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in

Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010222234/OVIC?u=monroecc&sid=O

VIC&xid=ea20e952. Accessed 22 Apr. 2019. Originally published as "Apocalypse Now:

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How Mankind Is Sleepwalking to the End of the Earth," Independent, 6 Feb. 2005, pp.

10-11.

Maruska, Edward. "Extinction Is a Serious Problem." Endangered Species, edited by Helen

Cothran Greenhaven Press, 2001. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in

Context,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010131205/OVIC?u=monroecc&sid=OVIC&xid

=8efd2db2. Accessed 22 Apr. 2019. Originally published as "The Pace of Extinction,"

The World & I, May 1999.