Name:MusaadAlminhali

Course:Meteorology1010
Instructor:BarryNielsen
Date:4/28/2016

EnvironmentalDegradation
Abstract
Environmentaldegradationhasbecomeamajorproblemin
thecontemporarysocietythananyothertimebefore.Immense
destructionoftheenvironmentisramparteverywherewithout
takingintoaccounttheconsequencesthatcouldaccruefromthe
levelofdestructionbeingwitnessedtoday.Fromdeforestationto
increasedemissionofgreenhousegasesintotheatmosphere,man
hasembarkedonunprecedenteddestructionoftheenvironment
leadingtoobservablenegativeresultssuchaschangeinpatternsof
rainfall,meltingofglacierandseaice,extinctionofimportant
speciesofanimalsandplantsfromtheplanetearthandmanyother

negativeconsequences.Researchstudieshaveshownthatearthis
experiencingthesixthlargestmassextinctionofspeciesandthe
contributingfactorsare;deforestation,climatechange,population
growth,poaching,habitatlossandurbanization.Forinstance,the
levelofdestructionthatisoccurringinAmazonforestis
unimaginableandthisforestishometothousandsofplantand
animalspecies.Thismeansthatthehumanraceisstaringatmass
extinctionofdifferentspeciesofanimalsandplantsifthecurrent
trendofdestructionpersistsinthenearfuture.Thispaperfocuses
onpenguinbirdsandhowhumanactivitieshavecontinuedto
endangerthelivesofthesebirds.

Introduction
Penguinsaresomeofthemostattractivebirdsonearthand

theirlackofwingstoflylikeotherbirdsmakesitauniquebird.
Theywalkuprightlyonlandandthepresenceofsnowmakestheir
liveseasierbecausetheyslideonthesnowwiththeirbellies.
Studieshaveshownthattherearebetween17and19speciesof
penguinsthatcanbefoundmostlyintheSouthernHemisphere
(WWF,2016).Amongthenotablespeciesofpenguinsinclude:
smallandbluepenguinsfoundinNewZealandandAustralia,
majesticpenguinsfoundintheAntarcticaregion,Africanpenguin
foundneartheequatorandkingpenguinsfoundthatcanbefound
intheAntarcticislands(WWF,2016).Whilethepopulationof
penguinbirdswasinmillionsseveraldecadesago,itisestimated
tobeinthousandstoday,thankstohumanactivitiesthathave
continuedtoendangertheexistenceofthesebirds(WWF,2016).
Forinstance,thepopulationoftheAfricanpenguinisestimatedto
bebetween100,000to150,000todaydownfrommorethan3
millionbirds4decadesago(WWF,2016).Severalreasonshave
beencitedaspotentialrootcausesforthesharpdeclineinthe

populationofpenguins.

(WWF,2016)

Firstly,increasedfishingactivitiesinthesouthernoceanshave
beenlinkedwithsharpdeclineinthepopulationofpenguinsinall
designatedhabitatareas(PenguinsWorld,2016).Thisisbecause
fishinghasandcontinuestobeamajorproblemthatleadsto
shortageoffoodsupplyforthepenguins.Forinstance,penguins
feedonsquid,crabs,fish,andsmallshrimpwhicharealsothe

maintargetedspeciesbythefishermen(PenguinsWorld,2016).
Birdspecialistsandfisheriesscientistshaveconcurredthatthe
movementofsardinesandanchoviesdeeperintotheoceanhasalso
ledtoreductioninthepopulationofpenguinsbecausesardinesand
anchoviesarethemainfooditemsorspeciesofAfricanpenguin
birdsfoundinthewestcoastofSouthAfrica(PenguinsWorld,
2016).Moreover,drowningandaccidentalcaptureofpenguin
birdsinfishingnetshasalsobeenassociatedwithfishingactivities
thatcontinuestoendangerthepopulationofpenguinsintheworld
(WWF,2016).Secondly,thereductioninthenumberof
penguinsintheworldtodayisalsoassociatedwithexcessive
emissionofgreenhousegasesintotheatmosphereleadingtothe
increaseinglobaltemperatures.Thisphenomenonwhichhas
drawntheattentionoftheworldisalsoimmeasurablydangerousto
theanimalandplantspecies.Forexample,theincreaseinglobal
temperatureshasledtothemeltingofseaicewhichservesasthe
mainsourceoffoodforthepenguinsaswellasthebreeding

groundforthesebirds(WWF,2016).
Astudyconductedin2008byWorldWildlifeFund(WWF)found
thatthepopulationofadeliepenguinshaddecreasedbymorethan
70%whilethepopulationofemperorpenguinshaddecreasedby
morethan50%duetotheriseinglobaltemperaturesthatleadto
meltingofseaicethataffectthebreedinggroundandreducethe
supplyoffoodforthesebirds(WWF,2016).Thismeansthat
penguinshavenoplacetolayandhatchtheireggsinorderto
increasetheirpopulation.Thirdly,thepopulationofpenguinbirds
hasalsoreduceddrasticallyintherecentpastduetohunting
activitieswherethepenguinbirdhasbecomethetargetforhunters
duetoitshighlynutritiouseggsandbodyoil(WWF,2016).In
fact,thisfactorhasbecomethemostdangeroushumanactivity
becauseitdirectlytargetsthepenguinbirdsleadingtotheirmass
killings.Notably,theshiftfromfishingtohuntingofpenguinshas
beenattributedtothereductioninfishpopulationintheseaand
oceansandthisactivitycouldleadtocompleteextinctionofthe

remainingspeciesofpenguinbirdsfromtheearth(WWF,2016).
Fourthly,crudeoilspillageintheseaandoceanshasalsobeen
associatedwiththereductioninthepopulationofpenguinsinthe
world.Thisisduetoanumberofreasons.First,oilspillageleads
tomassivedeathsoffish,crabsandotherseaspecieswhicharethe
mainfoodsupplyforthepenguins.Second,oilspillageleadsto
massivedeathsofpenguinsbecausetheycannotswiminwaters
coveredbycrudeoil.Breathingbecomesdifficultandtheirflaps
aretrappedbytheheavycrudeoil.Thisleadstotheiruntimely
deaths.Aslongasoilspillagecontinuesintheoceansthe
populationofpenguinsissettoreducefurtherandthesebirdswill
beeventuallywipedoutcompletelyfromtheearth.
Asmentionedabove,penguinsbirdsarefoundmainlyinthe
southernoceanssuchastheAntarcticaregionandtheAfrican
coast.Thus,thenumerousproblemsfacedbythepenguinbirdsare
occurringintheseregions.Theseincludethecoastregionsof
Australia,SouthernAfrica,SouthernAmerica,andtheAntarctica

regionasshowninthemapbelow(Quirin,2015).
(Williams,2010)
Massextensionofpenguinsisoccurringintheseregionsdueto
increasedfishingactivitiesandmeltingofseaicethataffectthe
breedinggroundforthesebirds.Importantly,differentspeciesof
penguinbirdsarefoundindifferentlocations.Forinstance,the
Africanpenguinisfoundinthewarmerregionneartheequator
whiletheAdelieandemperorpenguinsarefoundintheAntarctic
regionbecausetheyareadaptedtocoldclimate(Ksepka&Sara,
2006).ExtensivehuntingoftheAfricanpenguinhascontributed
immenselyinthereductionofitspopulation.
Anumberofcriticalstepshavebeentakentohandlethe
environmentalproblemmentionedabove.Firstly,non
governmentalandnonprofitmakingorganizationssuchasthe
PenguinWorld,andWorldWildlifeFund(WWF)aswellasmedia
channelssuchastheNationalGeographic,CNN,andthe
AssociatedPresshavepartneredtogethertoaddressthe

environmentalproblemabovebyincreasing
awarenessaboutpenguinsinthepublicrealm(Williams,2010).
Theobjectiveistoensurethattherelevantgovernmentagencies
getinformationaboutthemagnitudeofthisprobleminorderto
devisewaysofdealingwithit.
Secondly,drasticstepshavebeentakenbycountriessuchasSouth
Africathroughitsdepartmentofenvironmentalaffairstobanish
fishingactivitiesinthewesterncoastofthecountry(Quirin,2015).

Thisregulationimplementedsevenyearsagowasmeantto
increasethepopulationoffishinthewestcoastinordertoincrease

thesupplyoffoodforthepenguinsanditisstillineffecttoday.A
strictlawsuchastheEndangeredSpeciesActwhichwaspassedin
1973isalsoanothermajorsteptakentoprotectpenguinsfrom
extinction(Williams,2010).
Basedontheknowledgeacquiredintheprocessofcompletingthis
assignment,Ihavelearnedthatuncontrolledhumanactivitiessuch
asfishing,oildrilling,deforestation,poaching,hunting,industrial
productionandmanyotheractivitiescouldwipemanyanimaland
plantspeciesfromtheearthinthenearfuture.Forinstance,the
penguinbirdswhicharefounddeepintothesouthernoceanshave
alreadybeenaffectedbynumeroushumanactivitiestakingplace
withinandwithouttheirsurroundings.
Thisknowledgehasgreatlyimpactedmyambitiontobecomean
environmentalcrusaderwiththeintentionofincreasingawareness
abouttheroleofhumanactivitiesinenvironmentaldegradation
and,particularly,howhumanactivitieshaveaffectedthelivesof
differentspeciesofbirdsandfishintheoceans.Infact,the

knowledgeacquiredinthiscoursehasincreasedthemotivationto
beactivelyinvolvedinallmannerofenvironmentalprotection
includingmyimmediatesociety.

References
Ksepka,D.,&Sara;G.(2006)."Thephylogenyofthelivingand
fossilSphenisciformes(penguins)".Cladistics22(5):412441.

PenguinsWorld.(2016).Penguinsendangered.Availablefrom
http://www.penguinsworld.com/penguinsendangered/(Retrieved
on23rdApril2016).
Quirin,C.(2015).Whilescientistssquabble,Africasonly
penguinsatriskofextinctionasweakenedbirdsabandonchicks.
TheAssociatedPress.Availablefromhttp://www.penguins
world.com/penguinsendangered/(Retrievedon23rdApril2016).
Williams,T.(2010).Thepenguins:Spheniscidae.NewYork:
OxfordUniversityPress.
WorldWildlifeFund(WWF)(2016).Penguins.Availablefrom
http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/penguin(Retrievedon23rd
April2016).