There has been a growing concern for our environment as our
natural resources are being depleted and different species are becoming
extinct. There have been many disputes as to whether we can reverse the
environmental issues that are already at hand and preserve what resources we
still have for the future.
As history has shown, if we do no preserve different
resources we could ultimately become our own demise. The book A New Green History of the World: The
Environment and the Collapse of Great Civilizations by Clive Ponting
discusses the story of Easter Island and how when they did not take in account
their resources, they destroyed their own population.
As our population has continued to grow, we too have not
taken into account our use of natural resources and the destruction of other
ecosystems. The book Ecosystems and Human
Well-Being: A Report of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment also discusses
ways in which our population is abusing our natural resources, as well as
causing the extinction of other species. It also discusses that it is very
difficult to reverse what we have already done, but that there are solutions
researchers are in the process of developing.
One of the most successful ways of preserving our environment
at this time is conservation biology. According to the online website developed
by the Society of Conservation Biology, a group consisting of different
conservation professionals, conservation biology can be defined as “a mission-oriented science that focuses on
how to protect and restore biodiversity.” Biodiversity includes all forms of
life, from plants and bacterias to amphibians and mammals, and the way they
interact with one another. An example of
how conservation biology can be successful is shown by the online story Yellowstone Parks Wolf Reintroduction, written
by Kevin Sanders, featured on the website Bearman’s~Yellowstone Outdoor
Adventure. In this story Canis Lupis,
the Gray Wolfe, were captured from various parts of Canada and slowly
reintroduced into Yellowstone Park after they had been extinct from this area
for nearly 70 years.
