Earths environment Essay

Ecological niche refers to the position that an organism occupies in a habitat. It comprises the physical space where an organism is found and its role in that habitat in terms of the feeding relationships and other interactions with other species. Ecology niche describes the role or the contribution of an organism in an ecosystem. It also pertain to the sum of all activities and association a species has while obtaining and using resources required to survive and reproduce. The ecological niche fit into ecosystem, reward the competitive exclusion principle to state. Two species cannot pertain in an ecosystem if the niche is identical, however exist only if one or more differences in niche (Lester & Hal, 1994). Biodiversity and its important Biodiversity refers to the variety of species, their biological make-up, and the natural communities in which they occur. It comprise of all the native plants and animals in Pennsylvania and the processes, which sustain life. An ecological services offered by the biodiversity are important to everyday life. Biodiversity enhances ecosystem productivity in which all the species have a significant role to play. It is this case which enables the ecosystem to process the ability to prevent and recover from different disasters. This is crucial for human since greater plant species implies variety of crops. Moreover, most species of animals ensures that the ecosystem is naturally sustained (Hunter, 1996). What happens if the need for biodiversity in an ecosystem is not met? When ecosystems erode and biodiversity decrease, the cost of replacing its natural services such as protection of water resources, sources of food and recreational tourism become expensive. To prevent the genetic defects caused by in propagation, a variety of genes are required by the species for successful survival. The rate of extinction will increase if this is not put in place. The destructions, reduction and segregation of the habitat, reduce likelihood for interaction from species with a hefty gene pool. Impact of the exploitation of mineral and energy resources on environment: Mineral and energy resources have been perceived as vital ingredients in stimulating and supporting economic growth and improving the living standards. Its exploitations however, accounts to various environmental impacts such as, loss of biodiversity and pollution. During mining process, toxic gases may be emitted from the mines resulting to air pollution. When it rains, rainwater washes these toxic into the river or lakes causing water pollution. Similarly, extensive areas of vegetation may be cleared to pave way for the exploitation of mineral or energy; this leads to loss of biodiversity. With the destructions of the plant life, the habitats of various animals are destroyed. Environmental impact of Meat production Livestock production contributes to more climate change gasses in the world. In total, it contributes to about 18% of the greenhouse gas emissions. It causes land and water degradation. This percentage is due to land use changes or the emission caused by the energy used to produce fertilizers and pesticides for feed crops, run the slaughterhouse and pumping of water. In general, livestock production account to many environmental problems affecting the world. This includes rainforest degradation, deserts spread, decrease of fresh water, air and water pollution, acid rain and surface run-off. Environmental impact of Aquaculture Although aquaculture is understood as a clean industry, it causes adverse environmental effects to ecosystem. In deed, tilapia or catfish may change poisonous organic wastes into non-poisonous fish meat. But, salmon or shrimp farming has been revealed to cause negative effect to the environment. For instance, if fish waste, or antibiotic are unconfined from the crowded cages the nutrients will increase, which consequently result to rapid growth of phytoplankton and algae. The destructions of algae eventually result to reduce levels of oxygen in water that endangered fish and other organisms. Accordingly, wild fish will encounter poor water quality, destruction of bottom habitat and the disease outbreak. Another impact is the biological pollution caused by the alteration of the ecosystems and the reduction of the biodiversity. For example, an introduction of non-native species in particular ecosystem may result to food shortage, native habitat, or spawning areas for native species. In severe cases, a large blue tilapia has caused degradation of native fish species and vegetation. Sustainability refers to reasoning in terms of whole systems, with their correlations, consequences, and the response loop. This way of reasoning prevents artificial and frequently deceptive grouping like humanity against nature, and instead put more emphasis on responding to problems reasonably through learning and innovation. This is achieved by removing artificial obstacles and enhancing partnerships, which may leads to a low waste society (Lele & Norgaard, 1996). Conclusion Finally we have learnt that Sustainable environment improves the quality of life while living within the normal capacity of an ecosystem. One should sustain the level of physical resource used and moreover be able to convert those physical resources into an enhanced good and services for satisfying their need, without degrading the supporting ecosystems. Reference: Lester, B. & Hal, K. (1994). The full house: Re-evaluating the population of the Earth’s Carrying Capacity, New York: Norton, 76-77. Hunter, M. L. (1996). A fundamental of conservation biology. Blackwell science. Cambridge, Massachusetts, 482. Lele, S. & Norgaard, R. B. (1996). Sustainability & scientist’s burden. Conservation biology (10) 165-354.