Ordovician Silurian Extinction

Our planet, today, is amid a severe crisis and, unlike in the past, where mother nature was the cause, with volcanic eruptions and asteroid strikes, humans, now, are to blame for the extinction of some of the world’s plants and animals. Because of various activities, humans are inducing global warming and changing the biosphere; causing our plants and animals to suffer and go extinct. By learning, through research, about the negative consequences of deforestation, fossil fuel emissions, and land usage, and what can be done to stop this destruction, our planet and the species within, can be maintained and our natural resources preserved for future generations. Even though some feel that global warming is not occurring and causing the destruction …show more content…
During this extinction, 25 percent of marine families were lost. The Late Devonian extinction was the second mass extinction to occur, around 364 million years ago. Even though the actual cause is unknown, it is known that 22 percent of marine families were lost. The third mass extinction was the Permian-Triassic extinction, which happened about 251 million years ago and was Earth’s worst mass extinction. Scientists believe a comet or asteroid impact was the cause with 95 percent of all species, 53 percent of marine families, and an estimated 70 percent of land species such as plants, insects, and vertebrate animals were killed during this catastrophe. The End Triassic extinction, taking place roughly 199 million to 214 million years ago, was the fourth mass extinction to occur and most likely caused by massive floods of lava which may have led to deadly global warming. 22 percent of marine families and an unknown percentage of vertebrate deaths were the result. Finally, the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction occurred about 65 million years ago and is thought, by some, to have been caused by impacts of several mile-wide asteroids. Some scientists, though, believe that this mass extinction was caused by gradual climate change or flood-like volcanic eruptions. 16 percent of marine families, and …show more content…
Endangered Species Act (ESA) provides protection to endangered species, yet these protections for species on private land have caused political controversy and resistance among landowners; where the owners feel that it is their right to use their property without government regulation. With this mindset of landowners, what does this say about their ethics toward species extinction? In a survey of landowners in Indiana, the results showed “support for a moral norm to protect other species from extinction, although this support was somewhat weaker than for the intrinsic property norm. These results suggest the need for more attention to moral norms regarding extinction and landowners' attitudes toward species protection on private land. The results also suggest that policymakers, environmental agencies, and advocates might benefit from paying more attention to moral norms in promoting species protection policies on private lands” (Raymond & Schneider, 2014, para. 63-65). While deforestation is the prime direct and indirect cause of species extinctions, there are many other causes, including climate change, which are threatening species and global sustainability. Even though research has shown that human activities are destroying our planet, there are some who do not feel this way and debate this

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