How Climate Contributed to the Endangered Species Issue

The World Conservation Union warns that 40% of the earth`s total living organisms comprise of the endangered species. According to the international union, an endangered species is a group of living things that are in danger of becoming extinct in near future. The animals and plants may become extinct due to a number of factors. The species number in the universe may be few as compared to the percentage of predators. In such cases, the species diminishes at an alarming rate. According to Eric (57); McKibben (95); Washington and Cook (73), climate change causes the endangered species issue. This paper discusses how the various climatic elements such as rainfall, sunshine, and winds contribute to the endangered species issue.

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Background Information

An endangered species is defined by the U.S Fish and Wildlife "as an animal or plant species in danger of extinction throughout all or part of their natural range". According to the National Geographic Society, "an endangered species is a type of organism that is threatened by extinction". According to the research institution, an organism may become extinct as a result of genetic changes or due to natural happenings. For example, McKibben (163); Washington and Cook (67) observes that dinosaurs became extinct as a result of natural climatic changes in the earth. The World Conservation Union has a list of endangered animals which includes Asiatic lion, Albatross, Blue whale, crowned solitary eagle, snow leopard, and the tiger. The endangered species in America includes the black-footed ferret and the California red-legged frog. To conserve the endangered species, the Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species (CITES) was established with the objective of regulating trade in endangered species or their products.

Climatic Elements

Eric (123); McKibben (103); Washington and Cook (35) observes that climate is one of the factors that determine the distribution of all living things on earth. Despite the great technological advancements made by humankind, people have no control over climatic elements such as rainfall, sunshine, and winds. For example, human beings cannot increase rainfall in the arid regions. Moreover, man fails to prevent the rivers of the temperate areas from freezing. Temperature, sunshine, moisture, and winds are the most influential climatic elements on the endangered species issue. Washington and Cook (155), notes that there are many species that may become extinct as a result of climate change. The Polar Bear, The Ringed Seal, Monarch Butterfly, Atlantic Cord, Koala, Leathered Buck, Sea Turtle, Penguin, and American Pika may all become extinct due to changes in the climatic elements.

Temperature

According to Klein, Sovacool (23) and Umbach, F. (59), temperature determines the amount of warmth in an area which influences the survival of living organisms. Some plants thrive in col areas while others do well in warm or hot climatic regions. If the temperature changes drastically, the lives of the organisms are affected and may lead to death. Extremely low temperature is not conducive for the survival of both animals and plants. Frost temperatures tend to damage the parts of some plants and cause the death of some species of animals. Also, temperature determines the length of the growing duration of some plants. If the period prolongs, the organisms die. Temperature variations also cause the death of some organisms.

Prolonged dry periods easily contribute to the eruption of bushfires in the dry areas. Such fires burn down the vegetation which is the habitat of the animals. The fires also contribute to the death of small animals, birds, insects, and microscopic organisms. Pollution partially attributes to global warming. The main aspects of air pollution are the greenhouse gases house effect and the depletion of the ozone layer. The greenhouse gas effect refers to the warming of the atmosphere which is caused by heat in the lower sections of the atmosphere. The main greenhouse gases are nitrous oxide, nitrogen oxide, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and methane. The industries emit the gases which get into the lower parts of the atmosphere. The living organisms are affected after exposure to the lethal chemicals. The organisms may become extinct.

Global warming has been a common geopolitical topic due to the increase in the global temperature increase rate, contamination of the atmosphere, such as in developed and also in some developing nations, and the awareness that greenhouse gases from fossil-fuel-based combustion engine technology contributes the highest volume of the global warming causal pollutants which are health hazards to living organisms including the endangered species. By concentrating on the efficacy of energy utilization, technology considers the impact it has on the environment and seeks to rehabilitate the environment through minimization of energy losses, as well as by-product emission. Increasing the usability of energy equates to the conservation of the energy thereby creating good habitats for the animals and plants.

Sunshine

Sunshine is very essential to plants and animals as it is needed for the physiological process such as photosynthesis in plants. During the process of photosynthesis, plants manufacture their own food which they utilize for their growth while others store food in their various organs such as stems, fruits or roots. The intensity of sunshine and dry sunny conditions also influences the survival of organisms. Drastic changes in the amount of sunshine interfere with the body operations of the organisms that may lead to death. Continuous death of the organisms leads to their extinction.

Atmospheric Moisture

Atmospheric moisture in form of rainfall is essential for plants and animal survival. In the absence of moisture, plants cannot survive which also affects the survival of the animals which depend directly on the plants for food. Different forms of vegetation demand varied amounts of moisture. Some plants do well under heavy amounts of rainfall while others require a modest or little amount of atmospheric moisture. Inadequate amounts of rainfall cause retardation of the growth of some types of plants. Inadequate rainfall during the germination of some plants causes failure of the propagation material to thrive. When the material has germinated, lack of rainfall leads to retarded growth. Continuous lack of moisture finally ends in death. The organisms may end up being extinct.

Klein (24) and Lawson (129) postulates that the total amount of atmospheric moisture directly influences the survival of living organisms. Rainfall distribution during the year affects the occurrence of different fauna and flora in various regions of the earth. Heavy amounts of rainfall lead to damage of vegetation. Too much rainfall contributes to the soil turning to be waterlogged resulting in the absence of soil aeration. As a result, the roots begin rotting and the affected plants fail to recover even in the reoccurrence of abundant rain.

According to Sovacool (13) and Umbach, F. (10), extremely high temperature combined with lack of rainfall contributes to the occurrence of drought which is a threat for the survival of both plants and animals. During severe droughts, the pasture and shrubs dry up forcing the animals to migrate in search of fodder. The rivers and other water points dry up, making the animals go without water. Many organisms succumb to the drought and die, thus reducing the animal and plants populations. Continuous drought may lead to the extinction of the affected organisms.

Winds

Klein (14); and Lawson (105); observes that winds transfer both heat and moisture from one region to another. The type of wind in an area influences vegetation growth. Hot dry winds passing over vegetation are harmful to the survival of the vegetation. The winds increase the rate of transpiration in plants and also make the soil dry. The plants begin wilting and may dry up. Furthermore, the dry winds cause soil erosion in arid areas which affects nutrients composition of the soil.

Conclusion

According to scientists, many living organisms are in danger of extinction. However, only a small percentage get national government protection. Many living organisms become extinct with or without human knowledge. The phenomenon dictates combined efforts to manage the issues that cause the extinction of the endangered species. Efforts are being made by the respective governments to conserve rare and endangered species. The governments should establish programs aimed to increase the number of endangered species. All stakeholders, governments and non- governmental organizations should work together in combatting climate change.

Work Cited

Eric, Barnes. The City Where We Once Lived: A Novel. La Vergne: Arcade Publishing, 2018. https://dhjhkxawhe8q4.cloudfront.net/skyhorse-wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/06030941/Arcade-Catalog-SP18-email-res.pdf

McKibben, Bill. Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2011. https://mesa.marmot.org/Record/.b3296854.

Washington, H., and J. Cook. "Climate change denial: heads in the sand." Climate change denial: heads in the sand. (2011). https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=qbVcIc8w6w4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=.+%22Climate+change+denial:+heads+in+the+sand.%22+Climate+change+denial:+heads+in+the+sand&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiIpO-qu5PfAhUKdxoKHSn3BRAQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=.%20%22Climate%20change%20denial%3A%20heads%20in%20the%20sand.%22%20Climate%20change%20denial%3A%20heads%20in%20the%20sand&f=false.

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Lawson, Nigel. An Appeal to Reason: A Cool Look at Global Warming. New York: Overlook Press, 2014. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/apr/20/scienceandnature.climatechange

Sovacool, Benjamin K., ed. The Routledge handbook of energy security. Routledge, 2010. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=tHurAgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=The+Routledge+handbook+of+energy+security.+Routledge,+2010&ots=_JccJ6idcA&sig=stdatQDzUKIgDCwBB0mIuNkX9L0&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=The%20Routledge%20handbook%20of%20energy%20security.%20Routledge%2C%202010&f=false.

Umbach, Frank. "Global energy security and the implications for the EU." Energy Policy 38.3 (2010): 1229-1240. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421509000421