Humans drive species to extinction
By Ivy Ho
Since a million plant and animal species are now in danger of dying out, mass extinction seems to be likely in the near future. As a result of the human population considering itself to be superior to all other forms of life, we constantly disregard the value of nonhuman life. Whenever another species goes extinct, we are almost always the culprits.
The majority of us just choose not to focus on this global issue because we are too busy trying to solve other issues. In addition, most people are simply not informed when a plant or animal species is under threat. Once we become informed, what we do is wonder why the extinction of a species is occuring instead of taking immediate action.
Species are being driven to extinction each day because of human activities. Whenever we leave our plastic bags and six-pack rings on the beach, we are harming animals that mistake these items for food. Furthermore, many people still hunt animals as a leisure activity or to display them as trophies though hunting is no longer a necessity.
Besides directly killing animals, we are causing a collapse of ecosystems. As we alter the natural world by building factories, we are releasing harmful gases and particulates, contributing to air pollution and climate change. Moreover, when animals lose their habitats, there is a loss in biodiversity which affects our entire ecosystem.
We usually do not even realize when we are endangering species until they go extinct. We do not think about the unintended consequences that come with human activities.
Now we have to accept that we are speeding up the extinction of wildlife before we wipe out all other species. The rate of species extinctions is only increasing at a more rapid pace from this point on. Eventually, the extinction of other life forms will ultimately lead to our own extinction.
