Seal Hunting

Seals are being killed daily in large numbers, and this is leading to them soon becoming extinct. Seal hunting is the most biggest form of mass slaughter of mammals worldwide. Canada have is the country in the world that does the most seal hunting worldwide, however it is legal for them to do so. They are allowed to hunt 280,000 seals a year but nothing more than this. This good because at least now the amount of seals being slaughtered is controlled, however it should be completely illegal because soon these creatures will not be around anymore.

Name: Sea Shepard
Date last updated:
Date I checked: 17th January 2012
Website: http://www.seashepherd.org/seals/seal-hunt-facts.html

Name:
Date last updated: Monday 27 July 2009
Date I checked: 17 January 2012
Website: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2009/05/05/f-seal-hunt.html

Land degradation

Land degradation is a process in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by one or more combination of human-induced processes acting upon the land.It is viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious or undesirable.Natural hazards are excluded as a cause, however human activities can indirectly affect phenomena such as floods and bush fires.

Land degradation caused by agriculture takes many forms and has many causes. Some of the most important types of land degradation include

Degradation related to overgrazing by livestock

Degradation related to soil erosion , here related to inappropriate cultivation practices)

Degradation attributable to soil salinization (a build up of salts in soil that results from irrigation in certain situations)

Degradation attributable to waterlogging (another problem related to irrigation)

It is estimated that up to 40% of the world's agricultural land is seriously degraded and Around 33 percent of the land is going to be wasted at the end of this century

Soil erosion occurs everywhere in the world. It is more common in the Australia, India, Spain, U.S.A and Africa. The air and water erosion affects around 40 thousand hectares of land in a year

Ways of preventing land degradation

The erosion is prevented by the crop rotation, mulching which leads to decrease in the evaporation and increase in the absorption, presence of suitable outlet channels which can carry the water, sowing of certain crops which check the erosion and include the grasses, groundnut, pulses and berseem. The planting of tress also checks the erosion. The control on grazing and the terracing of lands which decrease the speed of water also keeps a check on the erosion. The contour bunding has an ability to hold the rain water and control erosion
The deserts in the world are made by man. The land is degraded by the development activities of humans which include the dams, canals, railways, buses and industries. The land degradation is prevented by the crop rotation, mulching which leads to decrease in the evaporation and increase in the absorption, presence of suitable outlet channels which can carry the water, sowing of certain crops which check the erosion and include the grasses, groundnut, pulses and berseem. The planting of tress also checks the land degradation. The control on grazing and the terracing of lands which decrease the speed of water also keeps a check on the land degradation


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_degradation
http://www.thebigger.com/biology/pollution/what-is-land-degradation/
http://people.oregonstate.edu/~muirp/whatdegr.htm

Shark finning~

Shark finning~

Shark finning is removing and keeping shark fins and then throwing away the rest of the fish. Shark finning takes place at sea so the fishers only have to transport the more profitable fins. The shark is most often still alive when it is tossed back into the water. Unable to swim, the shark slowly sinks toward the bottom where it is eaten alive by other fish.

These fins are used for shark fin soup which is a popular Chinese soup usually served at special occasions such as weddings and banquets. It is a luxury item in Chinese culture.The shark fins provide texture while the taste comes from the other soup ingredients.
Not only are fins used for dishes, but they contain cartilage which is thought to be a preventive medicine and treatment for cancer. In Mexico, the use of shark fin is widely accepted as an alternative medicine for prostate cancer, with some people theorizing that by eating shark fins, they can cure their cancer because sharks do not have cancer. The idea is that by taking medicines made of shark fins, the person will stop the growth of cancerous tumors, according to the London Prostate Cancer Centre. However, the London Prostate Cancer Centre reports there is no scientific evidence in which to base the health benefits purported for the consumption of shark fins.

Third thing it is used for is improving someone's sexual functioning.
Asian markets are finding an uprising in people who are seeking the powdered shark fin as an aphrodisiac to improve their sexual functioning. However, there is no scientific proof that there is any benefit to sexual functioning.

There is controversy over the practice of shark finning. Consumption of shark fin soup has risen dramatically with the middle class becoming more affluent, as Chinese communities around the world enjoy increasing income levels. Environmental groups claim that finning has caused decline of shark species, which are essential to the stability of oceanic ecosystems. Annually, millions of sharks are being tortured like this.
Shark meat is considered low value and therefore not worth the cost of transporting the shark bodies to the market.


Source:
http://www.stopsharkfinning.net/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shark_finning
http://www.sharkwater.com/education.htm

Deforestation:

- The statistics from the World Resources Internet show that 80 percent of the Earth's forests have been cut down;
- Approximately 90 percent of West Africa's coastal rain forests have been destroyed since 1900;
- The rich forests of Brazil and Indonesia are being cut down for the purposes of agriculture and animal grazing, and heating;
- Deforestation causes destruction of the natural habitat of the animals living in the forest, which is 70 percent of the animals worldwide;
- It is also said that cutting down the rain forests has resulted in droughts in the countries of West Africa such as Nigeria, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire, since the rain forests help generate rainfall;
- Trees are also natural absorbers of the greenhouse gases which cause global warming. As well as burning the trees causes a release of more carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere, increasing the effect of the global warming;

National Geographic; Forest Holocaust; (online article, last viewed on 16th January 2012 at www.nationalgeographic.com);

Environmental issue : Deforistation

Deforistation Affects the ecosystem in sever ways:

*Destroys animal's homes, and could kill the animal itself, thus affecting the food chain*

*Destroys plant-life hence less food for herbivores *

-Less oxygen being made, no trees to absorb all of the CO2

-Less vegetation in that area, could use the botany for harvesting

-leads to soil erosion

-destroys natural habitants

-leads to global warming

However, Deforistation is known to harm the environment- but can in some ways benefit people.


-Production of more land for farming purposes increasing the livelihood of the areas occupants.
--- which will result in production of jobs and income for loggers
Hence, = production of wood for various industries and housing
And = production of land for industrial and residential purposes.

It is no secret no deforistation affects the environment.However, it can benefit the environment in two ways:
1) opening up the canopy to promote growth of smaller, healthier trees and burrowing mammals
2) removing damaged or diseased trees