Benjamin Barber Intro to Meteorology Section 5 E-Portfolio Assignment: Environmental Issue Endangered Species

(Above photo: Polar bear on ice flow in Wager Bay by Ansgar Walk.) What do you think of when you think of endangered species? Polar bears? Bats? The dodo bird? The do-do bird is actually extinct. Which is the next step after endangered? All the animals die, and so then the population of that species is extinct. Animals arent the only things that are extinct, plants can go extinct too.

(Above photo: Coral reef ecosystem at Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service - Pacific Region's) So why is this happening you want to know? There are many different contributing factors that make these species endangered. Climate change is a big one. Also poaching (by humans), deforestation (by humans), urbanization (by humans), and population growth (also by humans). Humans are affecting these species in so many ways, and a lot of them arent in good ways. We could prevent a lot of plant and animal species from going extinct if we took some measures, and made a change.

(Above photo left: Cheetah at Beekse Bergen, the Netherlands by Erik Damen. Right: Jungle burned for agriculture by Jami Dwyer) Endangering of species is happening all over the world, not just in the U.S. Humans have to keep expanding, and finding more land, and resources like trees, and also food sources, which is leading to the endangered state for a lot of species, which will eventually lead to extinction of that species, forever. You may be asking what you can do to help these poor endangered species that are helpless to what is happening. Well here are some things that you can do; conserve habitats, make space for the wildlife, recycle reduce and reuse, plant native plants that are local to the area, volunteer at a local organization, and make your voice heard! These endangered species dont have voices, so we have to be the voices that speak for them. Dont let these poor animals and plants die. Go make a difference and save a life.

(Above photo: Asian Elephants at Mysore, India by Pratheepps)

I have learned from this assignment that humans are a big factor in adding chemicals and other harmful things into the air, that is affecting the atmosphere which in turn adds to Global Warming which is a part of meteorology, because global warming affects the weather and us! I also learned that humans are poaching these magnificent animals, for our uses, and this needs to stop before these animals disappear forever.