What is an Animal Extinction

The extinction of an animal species occurs when the last individual member of that species dies. Although a species may be extinct in the wild, the species is not considered extinct until every individual—regardless of location, captivity, or ability to breed—has perished. Natural vs. Human-Caused Extinction Most species became extinct as a result of natural causes. In some cases, predators became more powerful and plentiful than the animals on which they preyed; in other cases, severe climate change made previously hospitable territory uninhabitable. Some species, however, such as the passenger pigeon, became extinct due to man-made loss of habitat and over-hunting. Human-caused environmental issues are also creating severe challenges to a number of now-endangered or threatened species. Mass Extinctions in Ancient Times Endangered Species International estimates that 99.9% of the animals that ever existed on earth became extinct due to catastrophic events that occurred while the Earth was evolving. When such events cause animals to die, it’s called a mass extinction. Earth has experienced five mass extinctions due to natural cataclysmic events: The Ordovician Mass Extinction occurred about 440 million years ago during the Paleozoic Era and was likely the result of continental drift and a subsequent two-phase climate change. The first part of this climate change was an ice age that obliterated species unable to adapt to the frigid temperatures. The second cataclysmic event occurred when the ice melted, flooding the oceans with water that lacked sufficient quantities of oxygen to sustain life. Its estimated that 85% of all species perished.The Devonian Mass Extinction that occurred about 375 million years ago has been attributed to several potential factors: diminished oxygen levels in the oceans, the rapid cooling of air temperatures, and possibly volcanic eruptions and/or meteor strikes. Whatever the cause or causes, nearly 80% of all species—terrestrial and aquatic—were wiped out.The Permian Mass Extinction, also known as The Great Dying, occurred about 250 million years ago and resulted in the extinction of 96% of species on the planet. Possible causes have been attributed to climate change, asteroid strikes, volcanic eruptions, and the subsequent rapid development of microbial life that flourished in methane/basalt-rich environments brought about by the release of gases and other elements into the atmosphere as a result of those volcanic activities and/or asteroid impacts.The Triassic-Jurassic  Mass Extinction took place about 200 million years ago. Killing off about 50% of species, it was likely the culmination of a series of smaller extinction events that occurred over the course of the final 18 million years of the Triassic Period during the Mesozoic Era. Possible causes cited are volcanic activity along with its resulting basalt flooding, global climate change, and changing pH and sea levels in the oceans.The K-T Mass Extinction took place about 65 million years ago and resulted in the extinction of approximately 75% of all species. This extinction has been attributed to extreme meteor activity resulting in a phenomenon known as â€Å"impact winter† that drastically altered the climate of the Earth. The Man-made Mass Extinction Crisis â€Å"What is there to life if a man cannot hear the cry of a whippoorwill or the arguments of the frogs around a pond at night?† —Chief Seattle, 1854 While prior mass extinctions occurred long before recorded history, some scientists believe that a mass extinction is taking place right now. Biologists who believe Earth is undergoing a sixth mass extinction of both flora and fauna are raising the alarm. While there have been no natural mass extinctions in the past half-billion years, now that human activities are having a quantifiable impact on the  Earth, extinctions are occurring at an alarming rate. While some extinction occurs in nature, it is not in the large numbers being experienced today. The rate of extinction due to natural causes is on average one to five species annually. With human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and the destruction of habitats, however, we are losing plant, animal, and insect species at an alarmingly rapid rate. Statistics from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) estimate between 150 and 200 plant, insect, bird, and mammal species go extinct every day. Alarmingly, this rate is almost 1,000 times greater than the â€Å"natural† or â€Å"background† rate, and according to biologists, more cataclysmic than anything Earth has witnessed since dinosaurs disappeared nearly 65 million years ago.

Causes And Consequences Of Poverty - 1452 Words

Causes of Poverty There are multiple factors that poverty is related to such as having poor health, being involved in crime, and not being able to work (â€Å"Poverty in America,† 2007). Having one or all three of these poverty-causing factors has a snow-ball effect on individuals. Such factors limit the amount of job opportunities an individual may have, which in turn causes them to be stuck initially with low-come. If opportunities worsen, individuals may fall into poverty. â€Å"In the US, poverty rates are based on what is called the poverty threshold (also known as the poverty line), which is updated yearly by the US Census Bureau† (Finley, 2015). Health Studies suggest that there are many impoverished people with poor health because they†¦show more content†¦Freed criminals are deprived educationally, economically, and socially (Morenoff Harding, 2014). The constant flood of people going in and out of jails has increased inequality, mostly by decreasing chances for employment and reducing pay among previous convicts (Morenoff Harding, 2014). â€Å"Collateral consequences† of imprisonment has put prisoners in a position where they are no longer eligible for receiving benefits such as holding certain jobs, and financial penalties and feeds are charged on delinquents (collateral consequences† of imprisonment). The experience of ex-convicts is that they are not able to make ends meet, because of imprisonment, which only widens the gap of people stuck in poverty. Unemployment Many people find themselves in poverty because they lack participation in the labor market. There are many reasons why individuals are not able to work. Each year the Census Bureau workers conduct a representative sample interview on non-working Americans to better understand why they are not working (Haskins, 2016). There were six main categories mentioned in the responses of the adults ages 25-64 interviewed from the years 1969-2014 (Haskins, 2016). The reasons mentioned as to why Americans were not working was because they were retired, going to school, taking care of family/home, ill or disabled, or could notShow MoreRelatedPoverty : Causes And Consequences Of Poverty1484 Words   |  6 PagesGREGORY CAN275NBB (CURRENT CANADIAN ISSUES) TITLE: POVERTY IN CANADA DUE APRIL 12, 2017  SECTION A: Cause and Consequences of Poverty: a) Cause of Poverty: When a country is facing a change in its’ trends such as economy, inadequate education, high rate of divorce, overpopulation, epidemic and spreading diseases such as AIDS, climate and environmental issues such as insufficient rainfall, it could be a potential victim of poverty someday. 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Zeitoun Essay Free Essays

Despite warnings of evacuation, Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a Syrian-American owner of a painting and contracting company in New Orleans, chose to stay when hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. During his canoe trip journey after Katrina, Zeitoun encountered many people who were trapped in their homes and in need of his help. Risking his life to save others, Zeitoun was falsely accused of stealing and dealing drugs because of his race. We will write a custom essay sample on Zeitoun Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now In Zeitoun, Dave Eggers portrays the view that America has towards Muslim people and how people are treated unjustly simply because of how they look. A few days after Katrina hit, the levees broke, leaving the trapped civilians in shock and poverty. People who remained in the city had little resources, causing many people to break into other homes and stores to find whatever they can to survive. Zeitoun sailed on his canoe around the city and helped people who were trapped in their homes, including two dogs that were left behind by their owners. He felt that he was unable to leave his business because he felt responsible for the damaged houses throughout the duration of the storm. Also, Zeitoun felt that his home was â€Å"worth fighting for† (70) Zeitoun believed that by staying in New Orleans, he felt as if this opportunity was given to him by God to help the people who were still trapped in the city. The National Guards showed up at Zeitoun’s house with guns, assuming that Zeitoun and his friends were part of the Al Qaeda. The guards forcefully tackled them to the ground and arrested them. The National Guards did not inform them why they were being arrested and taken into custody. Zeitoun was taken to an interrogation room where he was stripped naked and his rectum searched for imported goods. They were forced to sleep on the ground and could not touch the jail bars or there would be consequences. Zeitoun was accused of terrorist activity, thus he and his friends were treated inhumanly. During the brutal treatment in jail, Zeitoun had splinters on his foot and asked for medical attention, but his request was denied without consideration due to his status. Eventually, his splinter got worse and he had to perform a medical procedure by cutting the splinter out himself. The soldiers and police in charge of the city after the hurricane arrested anyone who looked remotely suspicious and even those who did not. Instead of serving the public by helping them in the days following the hurricane, they took the civilians to the Greyhound bus station where they dispensed people into cages. Zeitoun and his companions were denied their rights, including the right to make a phone call. Knowing his constitutional rights, Zeitoun makes desperate pleas to the guards to have the opportunity to call his wife, Kathy, in Arizona. However, Zeitoun is repeatedly met with answers such as, â€Å"Phone’s don’t work. You guys are terrorists. You’re Taliban. † (222) Based on how they looked, they were treated as terrorists and the law seemingly did not apply to them. When Zeitoun’s wife, Kathy, finds out that he was arrested, she did not give up fighting until he was out of jail. Kathy did everything she could to get her husband out of jail. Kathy found a lawyer and found out exactly where Zeitoun was. When Kathy came to see Zeitoun, Raleigh, Zeitoun’s lawyer told her that it would cost $75,000 to bail her husband out. The price would have been lower if Zeitoun was not charged of being a terrorist. Zeitoun was wrongly treated because he seemed to be different from everyone else, due to his ethnicity, heritage, and beliefs. The National Security were afraid that Zeitoun was a terrorists that would put the country into turmoil. The soldiers and police abused their powers and treated people that are different with brutality. Dave Eggers was trying to show the reader how people can be wrongly punished based on their background, race, culture, and religions even if they mean no harm. Dave Egger’s book illustrates how people tend to jump into conclusions and make fast assumptions of others without getting to know them. How to cite Zeitoun Essay, Essay examples