WU Wk 3 The Sixth Extinction Event & Water as A Essential Resource Discussion

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Response Posts (20 points):By Day 5 and 7Respond by to at least two of your colleagues’ or professor’s postings in a substantive manner, meaning a minimum of 1 full paragraph. Simple “I agree,” “Good post,” or one-line question posts are not enough for full credit. Be substantive as you engage your colleagues.Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial research- based posting. Note what you have learned and/or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.Research Requirement: Be sure to support your ideas by connecting them to authoritative scientific information sources. Every week you are expected to conduct independent research (beyond the course resources). Cite your research sources and include links whenever possible.
12 hours agoKristen RE: Week 3 Discussion – Understanding Ecosystems! COLLAPSEWe are currently in the sixth mass extinction event, and unfortunately, it is entirely all our fault. The current global extinction is something that has never been witnessed by humans. This mass extinction is on our planet’s wildlife. Scientists are predicting that over one million species are bound to become extinct in the upcoming years. Due to our actions, humans are the cause of hundreds of animal extinctions. Unfortunately, these species will become extinct one hundred times faster than if they didn’t have our help because of humans. This has happened on our great planet only five times before; the latest was when dinosaurs were wiped off.
Many things that we are doing to our planet is causing the current mass extinction. Carbon dioxide in the air is at an all-time high due to burning fossil fuels, agriculture, and industries. Our rivers and seas dead zones because we are disrupting chemical cycles. We see an alarming increase in hurricanes, severe weather, glaciers melting, and sea levels rising because of global warming. Wildlife trading and habitat loss is also a culprit.
We need to get this crisis under control. We can help slow and stop the process of the extinction of wildlife. We can stop burning fossil fuels, protect our land and oceans, fight against wildlife trading and even slow the human population’s growth. With the current global pandemic and being forced to “slow down,” I think we could become one with nature again. We have been able to take a step back and open our eyes to what is happening.
From the beginning of time, everything from the plants and animals has given us history and inspired everything we do and how we live. As loud and crazy as this world has become, you have to admit that all the wildlife, exotic plants and flowers give us joy. If the current mass extinction continues, our planet will become a very cold, dull, and ugly place.
References https://populationmatters.org/campaigns/anthropoce…https:/www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/biodiversity/…https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/0…

2 hours agoReta RE: Week 3 Discussion – Freshwater Ecosystems!COLLAPSEFor this week’s discussion, I chose the Freshwater Ecosystem. As living things, we all need water to survive and not just any water, but freshwater. With only less than 3% of the earth’s water is freshwater, and the rest is in glaciers, fresh water is a precious asset for us to have. “Freshwater starts as a vapor, and once the vapor rises, it leaves salt and other contaminants behind, and then the water becomes fresh” (National Geographic Society, 2019). Freshwater, unlike marine, has little salt. Freshwater can be harmed by bacteria and pollution and become unhealthy for humans and animals. “Scientists that study freshwater ecosystems are known as limnologists” (National Geographic Society, 2019). The benefits of freshwater are that it is vital to all who need it for survival; it also provides critical regulating services and also vital to the biosphere (The Rockefeller Foundation, 2020). It also provides energy, clean water, food and helps support the world’s finances and means. The freshwater services are water purification, helps store carbon, which helps the atmosphere, can help climate change from the evaporation to cool the atmosphere, and if a fire breaks out, the freshwater can act as a break to stop the spread of the fire elsewhere. Human impact on the freshwater ecosystems by littering in lakes and rivers, constructing dams or an irrigation system, we can use too much water at a time, even chemical runoff. The building of dams or irrigation cuts off the supply limiting the flow of water. Excessive water use can cause reductive water reservoirs and could cause streams and ponds to dry up. The pollution and chemical runoff can cause toxins to run into the lakes, rivers, and streams and impact the fish and other wildlife and cause a population decline (Kazmeyer, 2018).As humans, we can manage this ecosystem better to control the construction of dams and irrigation. We can motivate farmers and agriculturalists to reduce pesticides. We need to throw our trash in the bins provided and not pollute the waters. We can also limit how much water we are using daily by limiting our shower use, limiting our drinking, maybe perhaps drinking bottled water, and limiting how much water we use in the yard by our sprinkler systems and washing our cars (National Geographic, 2017). We need to be more cautious as humans of how we are treating our environment.

References:Kazmeyer, M. (2018). What Is the Human Impact on the Freshwater Biome? Sciencing. https://sciencing.com/human-impact-freshwater-biome-5977987.htmlNational Geographic. (2017, March 6). The Threats Facing Freshwater Habitats. Nationalgeographic.com. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/freshwater-threats/National Geographic Society. (2019, August 2). Freshwater Ecosystem. National Geographic Society. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/freshwater-ecosystem/The Rockefeller Foundation. (2020). Healthy freshwater ecosystems: an imperative for human development and resilience. The Rockefeller Foundation. https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/report/healthy-freshwater-ecosystems-imperative-human-development-resilience/#:~:text=Energy%2C%20food%20and%20health%20%E2%80%93%20all

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water

human beings

wastewater

essential resources

the sixth extinction event

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