Research Exploration Essay w/Bibliographies

From rainforests and waterfalls to desserts and sand, from oceans and waves to mountains and mountaintops, from grasslands and prairies to the icebergs in Antarctica humans have put their foot onto just about every place imaginable on Earth. Planet Earth is thought of by some people to be what they call a “Gaia”. A Gaia is essentially a prospective view of the world as a living organism. In the Gaia view, it is believed that the Earth is relative to how the human body works. Like the human body, Earth has many vital “organs” that help make it possible for the Earth to function and remain habitable. These “organs” that I am talking about can be geographic features such as oceans, lakes, mountains, plains, volcanoes, rainforests, etc. The veins in the human body are thought of to be like the rivers and streams that flow throughout various places on Earth. The idea is that these various geographical features make up an ecosystem that sustains itself and allows it to function properly on its own. With out these vital “organs” the world would not be habitable, just as the human body and its incapability of living, breathing, or operating without its functioning parts. Although this is only a hypothesis that has yet to be proven a fact or by any means fictitious, what I have found in my research is that it could go one way or the other.
The diversity of our ecosystems is valuable for more reasons than one. First of all, many species depend on one another; whether it’s within the nitrogen cycle where soil, bacteria, and plants work together to produce many products that help out tremendously; or bees that provide the service of flower pollination; the dependency of species as food sources; or nature and its dependency on itself in order to regenerate ecosystems. Along with the dependence on one another, our diverse ecosystems offer many natural services including but not limited to its own natural water purifier. Everyday biologists and scientists learn more about what our ecosystems have to offer as well as the importance to preserve it. Though the biodiversity of our ecosystems are not often thought about in our everyday lives, it actually has plenty to do with our everyday lives. If someone were to put an economic value on the situation at hand, one would find that the biodiversity of our ecosystems are more important than to the naked eye.
From looking at various sources, the summary of the arguments made were that there are many reasons why biodiversity needs to be sustained, in order for our world to keep revolving. The argument made most about ecosystems in terms of its sustainability is that species depend on the environment and likewise for the environment and its species, so we must help sustain it. But how accurate exactly is that statement? Can the ability of natural services be kept sustained even without some species, kind of like how some of our bodies can live without an appendix, kidney, lung, or half a pancreas?
The Appalachian Mountains consists of three major sections; the northern, central, and southern section. The northern section starts in Quebec and New Brunswick, Canada going south down the eastern coast of Northern America to its southern point ending in Alabama. The Appalachian Mountains has over 500 protected areas including the Great Smokey Mountains National Park (Pickering). According to statistics in 2002, the Appalachian Mountains are homes to an estimated 22 million people and are expected to grow within the next decade (Pickering). Covering most of the eastern coast of our country it is important to understand the many uses that this mountain range has to offer.
The Appalachian region has one of America’s most diverse forests. Broadcasted on PBS, the televisions series, Appalachia: A History of Mountains and People, author Chris Bolgiano states that “One acre of cove forests in the Smokey Mountains has more species of trees than in all of Europe. … (The cove forests have) hundreds of species of trees” –Chris Bolgiano (Appalachia: A History of Mountains and People). Throughout the area of the Appalachian Mountains in eastern North America, there are 255 bird species, 78 mammal species, 58 reptile species, and 76 amphibian species; not to mention Kartesz and Meacham’s list of over 6,300 plant species in 10 states of the Appalachian region. Of these plant species, 27% are exotic species, meaning that they were non-native species; 76 are native species, and 6 species that are listed as extinct (Pickering).
Although this is one of the most diverse regions in North America, there are many pressures from human activity that refrain this area from becoming more diverse than it could. Relocation into these areas, building of dams, pollution, logging, coal mining, natural gas extraction, and recreational uses such as hunting are all direct pressures that affect this mountains biodiversity (Pickering). Many organizations are involved in making it known to the general public that these areas have a significant purpose. The Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Institute, also known as SABI for short, is one of these organizations aimed to educate the uneducated about this topic. Along with direct pressures, there are also indirect pressures as well. These pressures include uncontrolled fires, threats of invasive species such as the kudzu vines that can be found in Kentucky and in many other states south of Ohio (Pickering).
Due to population growth, people have had to expand their living accommodations by making cities bigger, ultimately leading to the invasion into the regions natural areas. Hiding away in these natural areas is privately owned lands that are the only areas big enough to become the heart of the new wilderness areas. Next to these big areas are smaller areas that provide as a perfect spot for breeding of species and recolonization. Without these areas that are laid out for breeding and recolonization, it would make the plant and animal population isolated and they would ultimately suffer repercussions. The only way an ecosystem and its inhabitants are ensured to survive is to make sure it stays connected to other ecosystems that surround it. These interconnected ecosystems provide numerous natural benefits including the cleansing of air and water, the reusing of nutrients, the renewal of soil, and the sustainability of its climate. (Pickering)
As of right now, America’s dependence on coal is very demanding. Today, over half of the electricity used in homes is generated from burning coal. The reason for this is that there is no other source of energy out there that is as abundant and affordable to the common person. Coal is so abundant in America, that in we actually have more coal here than the Middle East has oil. The demand for energy used these days’ makes it hard for one to weigh out the pros and cons of obtaining coal, which is why it makes sense to use coal as our main source of energy. (American Power)
Though environmentalists beg to differ, coal companies have made tremendous steps at attempting to make coal cleaner. Coal companies have spent well over $50 billion in commitment to making coal burning give off fewer emissions. Since the $50 billion investment, coal burning gives off 70% less emissions per unit of energy generated. (AmericanPower)
Another problem that people pose to the diversity of the natural environment, especially the aquatic biodiversity, is dams and water quality issues. From past experience, researchers have found that due to dam building in the Appalachian Mountains, extinction among the regions aquatic groups are over 10 times more probable than extinction of terrestrial groups. According to the Veves et al. list in 1997, there were a total of 74 aquatic species have gone extinct and 17 of those species became extinct due to damming in Alabama. To add to that list, there are over 50 mussel species that was added to the endangered species list. In 1999, Etnier found that 40% of fish put in danger were due to pollution and siltation while 32% of fish were put in danger by dams and other human impacts on the flow of rivers and streams. (Pickering)
Possibly the greatest threat to the biodiversity of the Appalachian region is the attack of the invasive species. Flora species in this area such as the American elm, dogwood, butternut, hemlocks, and beech are all trying to overcome this attack. Among these invasive species is the gypsy moth, which was introduced to control a pest problem. The gypsy moth is now taking over 300 species of moths that are native to this area. (Pickering)


Bibliographies:

1. Appalachia: A History of Mountains and People. By Jamie Ross. Dir. Ross Spears. Prod. Paul Wagner. Appalachiafilm.org/ APPALACHIA: A History of Mountains and People. National Science Foundation, The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, The National Endowment for the Humanities, The Cherokee Preservation Foundation, Appalachian Regional Commission. Web. 7 Feb. 2010. .
2. Pickering, John, Roland Kays, Albert Meier, Susan Andrew, and Kay Yatskievych. "The Appalachians." Discover Life. P. R. Gil, R. A. Mittermeier, C. G. Mittermeier, J. Pilgrim, G. Fonseca, W. R. Konstant and T. Brooks, 6 Mar. 2006. Web. 07 Feb. 2010. .
3. Whitty, Julia, and Michael McCarthy. "Animal Extinction- The Greatest Threat to Mankind." Animal Extinction- The Greatest Threat to Mankind (2007). The Independent. 30 Apr. 2007. Web. 7 Feb. 2010. .
4. "Issues and Policy." America's Power - Home. American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, 2007. Web. 08 Feb. 2010. .