Animals: Voiceless victims

Deforestation and its effect on animals and plants; the other victims in this environmental crisis

·         Deforestation is a process of clearing of forests by logging or through a popular process called
“slash and burn”

o   “Slash and Burn”- In third world countries “slash and burn” is a process in which trees are cut down and the remains are burned. The ashes are used for fertilizer however the soil from slash and burn is left infertile.

·         Forests are important because not only do they benefit people by turning the carbon in our environment into oxygen,  blocking the sun’s heat, preventing erosion and  land slides, and making soil fertile, but they also provide a natural habitat and a home for 50 to 90 percent of all organisms here on Earth.

o   90 percent are primates

o   The other 50 million animals are animals that can only survive in a rainforest habitat.

o   Tropical forests contain 70 to 90 percent of all world species

·         So why  should we care about the animals and plants in the forest?

o   25% of medicines come from the forest, and there’s still many yet to be discovered

§  Meaning that by destroying the forest, animals, and the plants that live in them we will also be destroying the cures for many of the diseases that are affecting many people in our society today.

o   Animals and plants provide genetic resources  -> it is important that we have bio diversity here on our planet. If animals are to become extinct then that we would have also lost these valuable genetic resources and bio diversity.

o   We are responsible for the lives of animals, plants, and the forests they live in because their existence in a sense enables our existence

What is happening right now:

1.       We are losing 50 to 100 animals and plant species each day

a.       We are creating what is called an extinction debt,  which we will pay for with the inability to sustain our civilization

2.       The protection of remaining forests might not be enough to prevent current extinctions because they are the result of logging and habitat loss created in the past

a.       Later on we will see the irreversible damage to species we have created from the deforestation that we have created now.

b.      Future generations will experience a greater loss of species because of the consumption of our natural environment that we create each and every day.

3.       Even though some animals are not yet completely extinct, their low population is enough to bring their species to their demise, especially for animals that travel in packs or herds because it becomes difficult for them to find food and a mate, stagnating their cycle of reproduction

4.       The same is happening for plants. As species of plants become rarer and more spread apart, it becomes difficult for plants to pollinate and reproduce. Just as it is seen in animals in danger of extinction, the cycle of reproduction for plants is also becoming stagnant.

Mass Production Factories

Factories are overexploiting animal production to meet the demands of the ever growing population.  We are growing at about 250,000 people per day! Can you believe how quickly that is?  No wonder these factories are becoming so prominent.  Yet the worst part is that these factories are not doing us, the animals or the environment any good.

First and for most, the animals are badly mistreated.  They are crammed into spaces so farmers can maximize output while minimizing cost.  Which essentially is what this economy is all about is it not?  Secondly these animals are fed antibiotics to kill bacteria which would kill the animals.  This way the   

animals can reach the desired “plumpness” or weight so that they will sell on the market.  However some animals become so large they actually die because they cripple themselves and can’t move so they die of starvation. 

Humans are affected not only through the environmental consequences but because people eat this meat.  It is full of antibiotics and who knows what else.  How will humans know in what way this affects their body?  Since these procedures are only recent then is this the generation that will learn the long term effects of this?

Environmentally this creates such a huge problem.  First of all, animals just as the rest of nature are not meant to be one single type.  It is supposed to be diverse yet we are breeding the same animals over and over.  Eventually earth will reject this and create massive issues such as the loss of many species. 

Another big issue which I want to focus on the most is that these factories are not paying any attention as to where their toxic dumps go into.  These factories are not regulated and therefore seem to be able to dump it anywhere even though they are affecting people.  One story on NPR news stated this issue and said that “rural wells that provide drinking and bathing water for farm families [are] being contaminated by farm runoff.” Then it goes on to say that these contaminants which are placed onto the fields are not regulated by the Clean Water Act of 1972.  Why can this be so if these pollutants cause e. coli and other bad bacteria and in some cases it has caused grave issues.  One example is in Morrison, Wisconsin where the people are greatly endangered by the waste deriving from these factories and polluting the farm water as well as the water that the citizens drink and bathe.  People in that city have come out with chronic diarrhea, stomach illnesses and severe ear infections because of the issues in the water.