Macaws

EAP2
Gin

Macaws

The Nature website, contributed by the PBS Media Company, focuses on our natural environment and wildlife. For instance, it includes animals, insects, plants and other species. Nature has been producing videos, sound tracks and encyclopedia books for 25 years. Furthermore, it started to do more topics that provided natural conservation education for this world. “Saving Macaws” is the one of the main projects of Nature. In its article, “The Real Macaws”, it has divided into three parts. The first one is Introduction. It stated their conception and mentioned that macaws are a seriously endangered species now. They started a program in Eco-Tourism to protect macaws. The second part, Endangered Tropical Jewel, roughly introduces macaws’ shape, size and weight, but details of their living environment and foods. It also tells the reader about that some species of macaws have become extinct. The final, "Packing For Conservation”, is mainly beaming on macaw’s habitat, which has been destroyed, and their conservation actions.

When I was child, I remember that I saw macaws many times somewhere in Taiwan. Maybe I saw them in zoos or in some shows. But I have never noticed that they were declining in numbers steeply. Through this class, I started to recall my memory while I was searching for some related topics; somehow, I was surprised that I had not seen them for about 10 years, except in zoos and in some documentary videos. I supposed that it might be longer than I thought. However, it is time to acquaint myself with them by my researched website – Nature. I am going to pick two kinds from the 17 species’ of macaws and talk about their profiles and their living environment.

Macaws, middle or large shape birds, dwell in many areas and most species inhabit tropical, lowlands or nearby rivers. The largest macaws will grow up to 34 inches and the smallest is only about 10. A mature macaw will weigh less than 4 pounds. All macaws are covered with very bright feathers in different colors. For example, Great Green Macaws have a light green color feather on its body and sea blue color on its wings, and Blue-Gold Macaws sport a sky blue color and gold (yellow) on their stomach, and a white face. They are all about at age 2-5 of children’s intelligence. They can perform some simple actions and imitate different sounds. Unfortunately, these colorful, cute and smart birds are endangered, and some of them have been approved as extinct species. These situations’ cause is that their home is disappearing at an unbelievable speed become of human destruction.

In the article, used as my reference, if mentioned that the macaws confront two main issues which are losing habitat and pet trading. In my view, humans’ population has been in exponential growth since industrial revolution. I assume that our resources will probably growth in the same way. Some resources can not be produced by us so we need to get them from nature. In addition, industrial pollution and global warming are reasons for macaws’s destruction. In an earlier era, our government did not have a complete law to protect animals, which accounted for the illegal pet trade was thriving and then macaws shrunk very quickly.

It is never too late for those endangered macaws to make them survive on the earth, but it is too late for the extinct one. I believe that we should build up and pass the animal conservation laws as fast as we can. Second, we can breed macaws by our technology to make them increase in number and teach them to get accustomed to the wild environment. Third, we have to stop overexploitation. Fourth, we must to try to downsize our population and natural resources needs. Finally, I would like to say we should not only educate our next generation but also new conservation thinking.


Reference

Nature. (1997-2007). The Real Macaws, Retrieved on October 22nd, 2007, from http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/realmacaws/ecotourism.html

Rudolph, E. K. (n.d.). The Endangered Great Green Macaw Ara ambigua. Retrieved October 22nd, 2007, from http://www.drellenrudolph.com/costarica/macaws.html

San Juan-La Selva Biological corridor. (2001). The Great Green Macaw: en route to extinction. Retrieved on October 22nd, 2007, from http://www.lapaverde.or.cr/lapa/index_eng_lapa.htm

Barry. (n.d.). Macaws on the Endangered Species List. Retrieved on October 22nd, 2007, from http://www.exoticbird.com/endangered_macaws.html

Ney, C. (1999). Endangered Species: Blue and Gold Macaws. Retrieved on October 22nd, 2007, from http://neyture.info/teachered/endanger/reports/birds/macaw/macaw.html

Wikipedia (October 19th, 2007). Macaws: Blue and Gold Macaws. wikipedia.org Retrieved October 23rd, 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macaw

National Geographic. (n.d.). Macaws. Retrieved on October 22nd, 2007, from http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/macaws.html

The cause of global warming

Gin Yuan Sheh
EAP2

The cause of global warming

It was hard to believe that global warming would make lots of creatures on the earth confront extermination and doom, after I read this essay. Shaoni Bhattacharya, a reporter of New Scientist, published her article “Global warming threatens millions of species” on its website. She was not the first one who noticed on this issue and told people how serious the problem is that is happening. She quoted some scientists’ research data. In her article, she mentioned the studies in the light, middle and serious models of climate changing affecting majority of species. And then, a percentage of species will start to move and find a better environment to live in, but some others will become extinct. Because of their living environments have been occupied by humans which for human dwelling, farming and other purposes. Not only could the article let me to know the problem that we are facing, but it also made me to generate my own thinking.

In the ecological view, humans are also a creature of the earth. Global warming causes a consistent effect not only affecting species but also endangering humans’ life; however, the global warming will not be the reason. The root cause, I believe, of global warming is just our environment pollution and overexploitation of natural resources. Of course, I have my own opinions in mind.

Humans have started to grab the natural resource a long time ago. We needed natural resources more and more such as natural gas, wood and minerals when our technology was improved. We logged trees for our furniture, books and houses, mined for silicon and steel and other minerals for cars, bridges and other purposes. We have overexploited too much. And then many of creatures lost their food and living area. These are the first reason to invasion other species live environment.

While we produce diverse products to satisfy humans' endless desires, we forget to repay back what we took and where we got it. We need trees, but we do not grow trees. We take food and house more than we need. We have made some area are desertification. We also leave much trash to pollute the ground and produce inferior air which includes heavy metal elements, sour and dioxide gases.

Global warming is just a result of what we have done on the earth. While all species are moving to seek a newer, better environment for living, some others are dying out; we forgot ourselves will be one of the victims in the future. Reducing human’s desires and stopping overexploitation and finding some new technology which will not pollute the environment is the way to solve the problem. Of course, if we can reduce our population, I believe it will also help our earth a lot.



Reference


Bhattacharya, S. (2004, January 07). Global warming threatens millions of species. NewScientist.com. Retrieved October 16, 2007 from http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn4545&print=true