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Why do we need to protect endangered species?
I believe in protecting the environment. In fact, I believe we will all die if we don't, and I believe other species are necessary for human survival and I believe that we must protect enough of their habitat that they can survive.
However, I don't understand the purpose of protecting individual species. If natural selection has selected a species for extinction, then doesn't that mean they are not well-adapted to their environments and isn't extinction a natural part of the process?
I understand it when people say, "Let's protect this big chunk of habitat, because many creatures live there and humans are dependent on other creatures." That makes sense to me.
But I don't understand when people say, "Instead of paving this area, let's move 60 ft. to the left and pave this area, because the first area has marbled murrelets on it."
But maybe I'm missing something. Environmentalists, explain it to me. Why is it important to protect endangered species?
I'll begin by asking some questions. Why do you believe in protecting the environment; what problems would arise for us as human critters on this planet if we did not? Why are other species important for human survival and which ones? Of those species that are important for human survival, what species are important for thier survival? Keep with simple answers to these questions and the next thing you know, you're describing a food chain. Of course, to maintain a food chain the species that form the chain must have some type of shelter to live in, places to raise thier off spring, and a way to moderate temperature and seasonal weather changes (in part, humans use clothing for this). Now, you're talking about a habitat or an environment suitable for viability of a species.
If you follow and support the theories of natural selection, survivial of the fittest, and/or evnironmental adaptation then you also support the concept of concept of a balanced ecosystem. In a balanced ecosystem, one creature/critter feeds the next either directly in a predator-prey relationship or indirectly in that one species's activity or waste supports the next; all have enough population or waste to maintain stable populations in the species. When an environment ceases to remain in balance and all are not adequately provided for, there are shifts in populations. Often, one species shifts population which in turn affects one or more other species, which in turn affects a few more. In one way or another, this has probably occured through out the history of the earth. And, as a result some species have become extinct while others have developed specialized adaptations such that they cannot feed themselves without their complement, procreate without specific habitat considerations, and more. Typically, these changes have occured over extended periods of time and the resulting environmental shifts from climatic conditions to soil microbes have not been particularly dramatic except for localized situations. What is occurring now is that the time frame has been drastically shortened, the environmental shifts dramatic, and it this is occurring world wide. What has us humans in a particular uproar is that we are among those creatures with the need to adapt to these environmental shifts within a time frame we realize we may not be able to meet and that our own species is threatened. Certainly, life and the world as we know it are being threatened.
Saving marbled murrelets and spotted owls are definitely important in reducing our personal fear factors and senses of responsibility, But, they are also important because often we really don't fully understand the contribution these creatures have to their previously balanced environments yet, often we understand enough to know that their contributions are required for one or more specific other creatures who are in turn required for a few more, and so on. And, lastly many of these creatures are indicative (or indicate) of evirornmentally changing habitat that directly impacts us. Saving the creature means saving their habitat which mean saving/retaining a piece of environment which in turn directly affects daily life for humans within that locale.
Lets take a slightly different and more concrete example. In the gardening world, it is said that worm happy soil makes for happy plants. If you have a lot of worms you will have a lot of plant growth. Yet, worms have very little to do with the direct growth of plants. On the other hand, they require compost and produce worm casings that feed the plants. The soil can only be so polluted, so dry, so wet, so cold, so hot, so off in PH, so hard, etc,,, to support worms. In general, worm happy soil has a number of critters, insects, microbes, bacteria, and more than we know of as of yet. The worms are an indicator that these living things and conditions exist, participate to generate these conditions and support the other living things, and live off of the land provided by these living things within the conditions they all provide. In turn the plants we eat, shelter our selves with, clothe ourselves with, and moderate our weather conditions with live best on worm happy soil. Ultimately the critters on our food chain also have plant life in their food chain. Even water based food in our food chain is dependant one way or another on land based plants which are in turn dependent on worm happy types of soil. If all of the worms in an area or worse yet world wide were to become extinct, we humans would definitely face a negative impact.
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