Issues+and+Background+Info+hdsp1

toc =Issues=

Deforestation
Deforestation is an important factor of habitat destruction because each day, about 37 football fields worth of trees are cut down per minute. Many of the animals that still exist on earth live in trees. Because of logging/deforestation, millions of animals are losing their homes and thus becoming endangered. This shows the full effect of habitat destruction on wildlife and on the world. rss url="http://news.google.com/news?q=deforestation&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=N&tab=wn" link="true" number="5"toc

Desertification
Desertification is also an important factor of habitat destruction because as the fertile soil becomes drier and poorer, there are no longer any sources of water and very few food sources as well. Thus, many animals will go extinct because they can not adapt to such a harsh environment. All of their sources of food will be gone or seriously depleted, and all of their original adaptations to the ecosystems they lived in before will be useless. This is complete and obsolete habitat destruction. Unlike deforestation, not only are the shelters gone, but all the food and water sources as well. However, deforestation is not to be undervalued. Often, because of deforestation, the fertile soil will be blown away by winds since there are no more tree roots to hold them down, leading to desertification. This issue occurs in almost half of the world.

Destruction of Coral Reefs
Coral reefs are being threatened by climate changes globally. Bleaching and diseases caused by increasing water temperatures are big threats to the coral reefs. More dissolved CO2 in the waters also intercede with the building of reefs. The destruction of Ozone layers can have effects on marine ecosystems (especially in the polar regions). Many coalstal areas will be flooded by the ocean.

Pollution in the ocean is mainly through direct dumping. Common pollutants includes sewage, POPs (persistent organic pollutants), radioactive substances, liter, heavy metals, etc. All of these pollutants have serious contributions to the destruction of ocean habitats. The Marine Environment is found to be polluted up to 2 kilometers along our coast. Oil pollution transported through pipelines and tankers have a high probability of spillage, and is a major source of pollution in the ocean. These pollution caused by urbanization and industrialization are having big impacts on our oceans.

Species Endangerment
Today, plants and animals are faster at extinction than any other time since the dinosaurs died out about 65 million years ago. In 1990, 12% of the mammals and 11% of all the birds in the world were endangered or under the threat of endergerment. 540 species are endangered in the United States and 150 species are threatened.

Causes for species endangerment includes:
 * introduction of non-native species into new ecosystems
 * habitat loss
 * poaching and hunting

75% of the species in US that have become extinct were from Hawaii. 3900 species were introduced since 1778, and today, 50% of Hawaii's original birds species are endangered. Viewed as one of the most important factors of species extinction, there is now 20% less cover of forest than 300 years ago worldwide. Five times as much land is now commited to agriculture. Right now, only about 6% of the Earth's land is preserved or protected habitat.

=Backgrounds=

Habitat Destruction is an extrememly serious problem that the world is facing today. Habitat Destruction is mostly caused by human activities. Pollution, climatate change, over-exploitation and other threats are endangering many animals and plants. The habitats are destroyed mainly for agriculture and forestry purposes in Africa and Europe.

Basically, habitat destruction is a process in which one habitat is removed and replaced by another. Animals and plants are destroyed during this process, and biodiversity is reduced. Mining, trawling, agriculture, urbanization/ urban sprawl, industrialization are all factors of causes in habitat destruction.

Fragmentation is a form of habitat loss that does not have as much attention as deforestation. When native species are crowded out in small habitats that are surrounded by agricultural clearing or areas cleared for other uses. The ecosystem's function can be interrupted, and the native species may be exposed to threats such as harsh wind, new predators and other factors.

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