What Is Biodiversity and Why Is It Important?

"Human beings are clearly highly ignorant of other members of the Earth Family and, at least in the Western worldview, have thought of themselves as sitting on top of a biodiversity pyramid or tree rather than forming a part of a complex web of life.(Shiva, p.44)"

Human beings place their importances over nature's. If it benefits them even though it is destroying the environment humans will continue to use the damaging products. Humans place themselves on a higher more important level the the environment. We destroy trees to build buildings and water ways to help make living better for us. Humans do not realize the damage they are doing because they are focused on themselves to much.

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"For animals, habitat loss, caused by large dams, industrial plantations, highways and the expansion of human settlements, is the major threat to species survival.(Shiva, p.45)"

We have destroyed many forests and other important habitats for our benefits. Many animals have lost places to live and find food because we needed another industrial plant of neighborhood. This is destroying species environments and not letting them thrive on land and continue to live peacefully. We have put highways in the middle of animals habitats which not only disrupts the environment but we kill them with our cars.

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"Biodiversity is not just a conservation issue, it is an issue affecting economic survival. (Shiva, p.50)"

The biodiversity is not only about conservation but our economic survival as well. Our economy depends greatly on industries. We are hurting the environment because we need to keep our economy going. We need to find other alternatives to important items we use everyday such as oil to not hurt the environment and keep the economy going.

[Photo From: http://www.uniquetimes.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Copy_of_green_economy_graph_earth-1.jpg]

The Obligation to Endure

"In this now universal contamination of the environment, chemicals are the sinister and little-recognized partners of radiation in changing the very nature of the world-the very nature of its life.(Carson, p.153)"

Chemicals play a huge part in the destruction of our environment. The chemicals power plants emit of, cars, and even simple hairspray cans can hurt the environment. It is just not as obvious because you can not always see the chemicals. It is hard to be concerned about something you can not see. These chemicals have already changed the environment by destroying the ozone layers. It is just not always on everyones mind because it is not in our faces everyday.

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"The rapidity of change and the speed with which new situations are created follow the impetuous and heedless pace of man rather than the deliberate pace of nature. (Carson, p.154)"

Our world is moving at such a fast pace we are not letting nature take its own course of action. We are to busy trying to fix the environment and make it a better place or us to live we are not letting nature take its own path. We need to let nature fix itself and let it recover and focus on how to not destroy it in the future.

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"We allow the chemical death rain to fall as though there were no alternative, whereas in fact there are many, and our ingenuity could soon discover many more if given opportunity. (Carson, p.159)"

We can eliminate a lot of the chemical problems by finding alternative methods. With how advanced our world is today there has to be different ways than to use the chemicals we do now. We need to find more natural occurring methods to use other than harmful man made chemicals.This can help keep the environment from being damaged by us everyday.

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A Tale of Two Farms

"Many people fear that ecocide has now come to overshadow nuclear war and emerging diseases as a threat to global civilization.(Diamond, p.21)"

Disease outbreaks have become a major issue in our world today. The way we get our meat and other vegetables makes it easy for outbreaks of diseases. Our food is not coming from farms and more of factors. This makes it very easy for one disease to spread through an entire factory. Many of the foods in grocery stores to restaurants all only use the same few factors. People need to be aware of where there food is coming from and try to use foods that come from real farms. Local food markets are the best way to make sure it is healthy. 

[Photo From: http://postgrowth.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/ecocide.jpg]

"We are much more conscious of environmental damage now than we were a mere few decades ago.(Diamond,p.24)"

Today people are very aware of the damages being caused to the environment because it is all around us. When we go to public restrooms, watch TV, or anywhere has advertisements to save water. People are more aware of the destruction of land, ozone layer, and water. This makes people more conscious of their actions. Before people did not pay attention to the damages they caused. Now there are many ways people can help prevent more damage in the future. 

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"In fact, climate may become hotter or colder, wetter or drier, or more or less variable between months or between years, because of changes in natural forces that drive climate and that have nothing to do with humans.(Diamond, p.28)"

The climate changes every year. The summer and winter temperatures change over time. This has nothing to do with what people are doing it is a natural occurring change. It will always be constantly changing and people will have no affect on what will happen next. All we can do is our part to save the environment everyday by recycling,not using as much water, or keep planting more trees. 

[Photo From: http://why-sci.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/climate3.jpg]

Plan B 4.0

"Climate change also threatens food security. After a certain point, rising temperatures reduce crop yields.(Brown,P.6)"

The climate today has been changing so much especially with global warming. It has been super hot and makes growing crops harder because the temperature has been so hot. It changes the climate in the ares that crops are grown. This makes it difficult to grow certain crops. The extremes of hot and cold can damage the growing processes of crops. It is difficult to grow crops with a constantly changing weather patterns. In todays world we rely on farmers to grow our food and keep it clean.

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"The integration of walkways and bikeways into urban transport systems makes a city eminently more livable than one that relies almost exclusively on private automobiles. (Brown, P.154)"

I think today the world has been designed so that if you do not have a car you are stuck. There are buses but even in some areas it is hard to get on buses. I think they need to design new areas so that it is possible to ride your bike to work or walk to the store. Where I grew up it was a challenge to ride our bikes to the gas station to get slurpees. That was far and everything was farther than that. In future growing areas should design buildings and houses more bike and walking friendly.It will also help to keep people more active instead of rely on sitting in cars.

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"Restoring the earth will take an enormous international effort, one far larger and more demanding than the Marshall Plan that helped rebuild war-torn Europe and Japan.(Brown, P.193)"

Restoring the earth will take a long time and a huge effort on everyone's part. Many forests have been destryoed which has affected many animals homes. We are too busy worrying about hurting the environment for our own benefit. It is not just Europe and Japan like the Marshall Plan, it is the entire world that needs help. Emissions from cars, power plants,and other industrial places destroy the environment.It will take a long and continuous effort to restore the environment and everyone needs to keep helping.

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A Land Remembered

Briefly describe the character and their role in the novel.

Zech is the second generation of the MacIvey's and is Tobias' son. He is the father of Solomon and Toby Cypress. He grew up riding horses and became very experienced with guns. He was taught by his father how to live off the land and survive.

How does the character relate to their environment and the natural world?

Zech has a very close relationship with the environment because that is how his family survived and how he was raised. They grew up herding cattle across the state of Florida.Herding their cattle across the challenging swamps of Florida was what he was used to.  He had a close relationship with his two dogs and his horses.Their family also needed to rely on the land to grow their oranges.

Where does the character feel a sense of place (to what place do they feel an emotional attachment) and why?

Zech feels a sense of place the most riding Ishmael, his horse. He feels a natural comfort and is naturally skilled at ridding his horse. His sense of place is in the open plains of Florida. He is used to being outdoors herding cattle and being in the scrubs of Florida. Riding his horse comes easy to him and he feels a sense of comfort.

What legacy did the character leave behind for the next generation?

The legacy Zech leaves behind is a hard work ethic. He understands the amount of effort and work it takes to raise a family. He also leaves behind a care for the environment. He understands how important the environment is and how it needs to be respected. He is one of the last ones to understand the importance of the land. His son Solomon does not understand the respect for land as much as Zech and his father Tobias had. 

Why did you select this character and how do you relate to them?

I selected this character because he grew up first understanding how important the environment is to be respected. As he gets older the respect for land changes to who owns it and how is it going to benefit the future. He sees how the world is changing. I can relate because our generation is different and changing because of the influence of technology now.