[Coral-List] Endangered Species

Courtney Kiel miss.courtney.kiel at gmail.com
Sat Jan 5 17:18:34 EST 2013


Humans are part of the animal kingdom. And as much as society
misconstrues evolution to be directional, it is not. Humans are no
more highly evolved than apes, or dogs, or birds, or fish. Evolution
is random, then the fit survive which is the selection process. The
plant and animal kingdoms are all beings with an ecosystem niche, and
from this aspect they can all be considered as equal.  Two difference
between humans and other beings seems to be that humans are capable of
producing synthetics, and they are conscious of changes occurring in
their surrounding ecosystems. So then my question becomes when are
human actions considered unnatural? When are humans acting in their
niche role and when are we ruining the Earth?

Despite this uncertainty, extinctions are one of the few certainties
in life. Fossils show extinction is natural, and there are debatable
records showing that anthropogenic influences are causing unnatural
changes. But something needs to be done because humans have a need for
coral, just as coral reefs need coral. Therefore humans have
constructed the Endangered Species Act as a tool used to regulate
anthropogenic-influenced extinctions. This act is particularly good at
stopping projects that most likely have a direct source of negative
impact on the identified species, thus hopefully preventing further
accelerated loss. In addition to restoration efforts I believe this
proactive “red tape” tool is a definite advantage of the ESA needed to
delist the species, as some people in this thread have touched on. Of
course the process is not perfect and there are differing views on
listing criteria, the affects on species research, and outcomes of the
proposed listings. But at least the ESA includes justified guidelines
for handling such an overwhelming and widely affecting issue!!!
However, we do need more proactive solutions, such as getting the
majority of people to care enough to make small changes like decreased
consumption.

Courtney Kiel, MS
Courtney.Kiel10 at gmail.com
(303) 667-5687


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