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Jenna Johnson

Mrs. Burns

JCC ENGL 1530

19 Nov. 2010

Global Conservation

Global Conservation is currently a major issue in our world. It affects many habitats that

harbor many people, plants and animals. The climate is changing every day little by little due to

global warming. The destruction of our climate also aids to the destruction of these many

habitats in our world. Humans depend greatly on these habitats for food, water and shelter.

(Hoekstra) Although actions have already been taken to improve the conditions of our world, it

isn’t enough. We need to do more to conserve the natural world or it will quickly deplete to a

point where we will not be able to live in it.

We don’t think about our home city as being a habitat, but it is. There are also many

other important habitats, not just for us but for plants and animals, that are being harmed due to

the lack of conservation. Such habitats include forests & wetlands, grasslands, deserts & arid

lands, rivers & wetlands, lakes, caves & karsts, coasts & shelves, coral reefs, mangrove forests,

sea grass beds, salt marshes, and high seas & deep oceans. (Hoekstra) Just as our home is

important to us, these habitats are important to the plants and animals that live in them.

Littering, flooding, and temperature changes due to global warming put these habitats in danger

of living in.

Perhaps one of the worst problems in our world is the water. It’s crazy that 75% of the

world is made up of water, but only 1% is drinkable. That, I say, is a big problem. With an

increase in the population, there has been a higher demand for water and that demand puts a
strain on our resources. (Peters) Groundwater depletion rate is accelerating in places all over the

world. So much water has been drawn from underground that is has added significantly to the

oceans by evaporation and precipitation. This accounts for approximately 25% of the sea level

rise. (Groundwater) Also, people do not have trust in our natural water so the bottled water

industry has been at it’s high. People think bottled water is better tasting, safer, convenient, and

that it’s valued more because there is a price on it. All of these accusations are false. Public

water is just as efficient as bottled water and bottled water bottles just get thrown away and

increase the effects of pollution. (Bottled) Although many cities make clean public water

available, some places do not. A lack of clean drinking water leads to approximately 250 million

water-related diseases each year. (Support) Pollution and toxic waste make our water very

unsafe. Something needs to be done to make our water safer to drink so that people won’t be

forced to purchase bottled water.

Something we need to consider rethinking is meat. Food safety is one reason to rethink it

but another is climate change. Our choice of food impacts our planet and according to The

Center for Food Safety and the Union of Concerned Scientists, we are recommended to eat less

meat to reduce global warming. Sounds weird, but a result from meat is that it generates more

heat-trapping emissions, such as nitrous oxide and methane, than food that is grown on the farm.

It has been estimated from the scientists at Carnegie Mellon University that 60% of greenhouse

gasses given off from food production are from the production of edible meat. A “green”

solution to this problem for people who are meat lovers is to reduce the quantity of meat

consumed, look for organic meat with fewer pesticides, and ask for packaging other than plastic

and Styrofoam so that it doesn’t sit at a landfill for all of eternity. (Peters)

Finally, the major problem: Global Warming. This global defect threatens our health and
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our environment. The cause is mostly pollution from things like cars and power plants when

they give off hazardous gasses from the burning of fossil fuels which injects carbon dioxide into

the atmosphere. This creates a thick layer of pollution that traps heat inside of our world and

will eventually make the air very hot and uncomfortable to live in, make the air and water dirtier,

and create unnatural disasters such as droughts, floods, and wildfires. As a matter of fact, the

impacts of global warming will fall most heavily on the world’s poor people, but will also harm

everyone else in the world. (The Cry of Creation) A solution needs to be made that will cure this

global issue. Global conservation is slowly coming into effect, but not fast enough. We need to

protect the earth and there are many ways to do so.

Some may call it “going green,” others will call it being “eco-friendly.” However you

think of it, it all has the same purpose. A good start is to just eat “green” and healthy. You can

reduce meat consumption, eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole grain, and also look for food

that is organic or locally grown. You can travel energy efficiently by purchasing a car that gets

35 miles per gallon or higher to reduce how much fossil fuel you’re burning. There are also

ways to conserve water. Reduce the usage by purchasing home “green" necessities such as low-

flow models of shower heads, faucets, and toilets. Avoid bottled water whenever possible and

instead, drink filtered tap water in a reusable bottle for convenience. (5 Priority Steps)

Something as easy as turning off the water when brushing your teeth can really make a

difference.

Conservation in our world is already on it’s way. The Global Conservation Act of 2010

was passed on March 26, 2010. It constructs a plan on how to control the depletion of

worldwide natural resources and how to protect the health of our future world. It has many goals

and requires that agencies develop a plan to protect land and sea, address illegal fishing around
the world, protect our fresh water sources, stop wildlife trafficking operations, and stabilize

environmental destruction. The world is in a crisis and this bill was passed to try solving

worldwide problems. (Global) Even though there’s an act that says the government must take

action, we should all join in too. There are organizations just like this for us to join to help in

protecting our world.

Whether it’s habitats, water, or global warming, there are many problems. Where there’s

a problem, however, there is a solution. We as the people that live on Earth need to aid in

solving the solution, which is global conservation. There is still a lot of work to be done in our

world. It needs to be done before it’s too late and the conditions become un-livable.

Works Cited
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"Bottled Water Myth Versus Reality." Storyofbottledwater.org. The Story of Stuff Project.

"Global Conservation Act of 2010 Maps the Way to Cooperative Conservation - Conservation

International." Home - Conservation International. Web. 21 Nov. 2010.

"Groundwater Depletion Rate Accelerating Worldwide." Science Daily: News & Articles in

Science, Health, Environment & Technology. Web. 21 Nov. 2010.

Hoekstra, Jonathan M., and Jennifer L. Molnar. "Chapter 2 / Habitats." The Atlas of Global

Conservation: Changes, Challenges and Opportunities to Make a Difference. Berkeley:

University of California, 2010. Web.

Peters, Marianne. "Rethinking Meat." Creation Care. Web. 21 Nov. 2010.

Peters, Marianne. "Water, Water Everywhere but Not a Drop to Drink." Creation Care. Web.

21 Nov. 2010."Groundwater Depletion Rate Accelerating Worldwide." Science Daily:

News & Articles in Science, Health, Environment & Technology. Web. 21 Nov. 2010.

"Support the Human Right to Water and Reclaim the Commons « The Story of Bottled

Water." The Story of Stuff. Web. 21 Nov. 2010.

"The Cry of Creation: Global Warming and Global Justice." Interfaith Power & Light | A

Religious Response to Global Warming. Web. 21 Nov. 2010

"5 Priority Steps for 'Greening' Your Home." GreenFaith. Web. 21 Nov. 2010.