A lot of people like expensive things and getting physical objects, but do we ever stop to think how this affects the Earth?
Fast fashion, factories, AI, an increase in population, and deforestation all impact the state of our ecosystems. As a society, we depend heavily on the things that are already produced, heavily processed, and what is easy to access. But what are the consequences of these things, and why is biodiversity loss such a great loss to our Earth?
In everyday life, we don’t think twice about using our gas vehicles, AI, or even when we buy our clothes. We don’t always think about how the things we “want” are affecting what truly matters.
Pollution and deforestation are some of the biggest leading causes of biodiversity loss. Deforestation happens when we need the resources for new buildings, agriculture expansion and even timber extraction.
When deforestation happens, it rips habitats apart and leaves animals without food and homes. For example, the Amazon rainforest is being destroyed on record levels due to deforestation and the destruction of wildlife unfound anywhere else on Earth.
According to pnas.org, among the many consequences animals endure is forced migration to human civilizations, which cause zoonotic diseases to “spill over.”
This poses significant risk to humans, and other species of animals. Zoonotic diseases are ailments that originate among animals, but it can be transferred to humans. Seventy-five percent of new diseases were originally cultivated in animals, but there are ways to help prevent this.
Veterinarian scientists and human specialists collectively study these diseases and come up with cures or vaccines to help prevent these outbreaks, or stop them before they spread too widely.
Everything on Earth is connected. Animals and nature all work together to survive, but without nature we will not survive. “Without biodiversity, the intricate web that sustains all form of life would not be able to exist” according to earth.org.
Scientists have also discovered that because of global warming, the occurrence of once-in-a-century disasters – like flooding, droughts, and other catastrophes – are happening far too often.
These disasters affect how our ecosystems survive, and humanity in general. And as our wildlife decreases, we are also losing habitable land – namely popular landscapes such as grass.
Grass is considered a dead zone for ecosystems because it doesn’t sustain or protect wildlife. It also isn’t a native plant, which is detrimental to insects, birds and other wildlife. Over time, the turf grass industry has had a revenue of about $57.9 billion dollars in revenue on lawn care. Lawns can also use the same amount of water as 800 showers.
This greatly impacts our planet’s surface, and the signs have been increasingly showing. Between 1970 and 2018, there was a 69% decline in population size across 31,821 species studied.
This decline has left 75% of the planet’s surface significantly altered. Nearly 70% of the ocean area is experiencing increasing cumulative impacts, and over 85% of wet lands have been lost.
According to earth.org, out of 8 million species of animals, 1 million of them are threatened with extinction. As these animals start to disappear, we will slowly lose our full ability to use nature to our advantage. About 40% of our medicines used today have been cultivated by the resources from plants and animals.
How can we help prevent some of these extinctions?
Pesticides
- According to Nlm.nih.gov , one of the biggest things in our food system today is pesticides. When vegetables get sprayed, these chemicals get released into the air and consumed by wildlife and even humans. Pesticides kill animals and even cause cancer in all different species, including humans. Pesticide also cause major health issues like toxicity if inhaled. By buying pesticide free vegetables, we can help limit the amount of pesticides being used and reduce these effects on our world.
Carbon emissions
- By limiting carbon emissions, we can prevent extreme temperature shifts, and slow down extreme habitats loss. Our domesticated pets also emit a lot of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, especially in their food. The average beef, or lamb slaughtered for pet food, emits up to 50 to 750 kilograms of carbon, while fish only omit 1 to 5 kilograms of carbon. When carbon dioxide is released into the air it heats up the atmosphere, causing what is called the green house effect. We can help reduce carbon emissions by using fish-based pet foods.
Compost
- Compost is a relatively easy way to help reduce biodiversity loss. It promotes plant diversity, reduces toxic chemical fertilizers, and restores degraded soils. By composting, which consists of a bin, food scraps, yard waste and worms, wastes turns into a naturally rich fertilizer.
Buy sustainable products
- A lot of the products we buy today are not sustainable and end up in land fills. Every year, the landfill accepts about 146 million tons of waste a year. While the amount of recycling has increased over the decades, there is still a significant amount of waste that isn’t being reduced. Sustainability isn’t as difficult as some make it seem. It’s as simple as using a reusable straw, items made by other recycled items, or organic materials.
The average household has at least two pets, and we always want what’s the best for them. We play with them, feed them, maybe even talk to them , but in recent years the amount of illnesses they are suffering from ailments like asthma, digestive issues, and skeletal issues have gone up due to pollution.
The same goes for humans, the amount of chronic illnesses have skyrocketed from pollution, and the things we consume.
Our ecosystems are what keeps the planet running. Without them, we are nothing. We eat, breath, drink, and thrive from healthy working ecosystems. Protecting and helping to sustain our ecosystems is what will keep us alive for the future.