Endangered Species: Why should I even care?

My guess is that if you have reached this blog, I don't need to persuade you about the importance of preserving animals.  I imagine most people naturally think this is a good idea, but why should we even care? Animals have become extinct before, right? I'm sure there have been animals that have gone extinct without you even knowing it happened, so what's the harm? Are you really affected? 

Throughout this blog I hope to be able to give a few reasons to care about species becoming extinct.  If you already believe it is important to try to save these animals but don't know exactly why, here are a few ideas to get you started.

1. All animals contribute to our ecosystem

While we may not notice an immediate difference when one species dies off, some animal surely will.  Animals depend on plants and other animals to survive, and when one is no longer there to support its surroundings, other animals have a higher risk of dying.  If this trend continues, even those who don’t care will eventually be forced to see the effects.

2. Animals are becoming extinct at an alarming rate

Of course animals have become extinct naturally in the past.  The rate of extinction in the past 100 years or so, however, has grown exponentially.  Scientists have found that fewer than one in a million species should naturally become extinct per year.  Currently, the rate of extinction is estimated at 100-1000 times this natural rate.  This rise in extinction is not a coincidence, but rather a result of man’s carelessness.

450 × 267

450 × 267

Graph from
http://www.peakprosperity.com/

3. It just doesn’t feel right!

This argument does not have any hard evidence to support it, nor do I think it needs any.  I believe that people inherently know that killing animals is generally a bad thing.  Whether you believe that God or evolution or something else has created all of these animals, each animal is here for a reason.  I’m not talking about hunting for food or game, but to see a species that is about to completely die off and to not do anything about it is simply wrong.  If everyone does their part, people can make a big difference.

Throughout the next few blogs I will be going over more specifics on the what, why, and how we can make a difference for one animal that is very much endangered: the sea turtle.  

Photo from http://www.flickr.com

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