Darcy's+Project.

Bush walkers think that keeping the environment free from human interference is essential. Land developers say that is important to utilize the land we have to provide homes and recreational facilities for people to enjoy. Those in the mining and timber industries insist that the land should be used to provide the raw materials to meet the needs of technological progress. I tend to agree with the bush walkers point of view as in many ways is our earth being affected by the general over-consumption and over-use of resources.

There are many reasons to support my argument such as the depletion of resources of the past decade. Resource depletion is caused by over consumption, excessive or unnecessary use of resources, non-equitable distribution of resources, techno logical and industrial development, mining for oil and minerals, and pollution or contamination of resources. With no human interference, this probably would nearly eradicate. Worldwide, governments have dealt with the recession by increasing consumption to prevent job losses which has increased demand for scarce resources, in order to return countries to growth (or business as normal). A good example of resource depletion is the growing use of petroleum, which is a finite resource which takes millions of years to create. At the rate we are using up petroleum we could be facing depletion within the next five generations. With growing population and land degradation we are also facing a situation where the Earth can no longer feed the vast amount of people on the planet.

Of particular concern is deforestation, where logging or burning are followed by the conversion of the land to agriculture or other land uses. Even if some forests are left standing, the resulting fragmented landscape typically fails to support many species that previousl y existed there. An example of this is in Brazil, where rich rainforest's which are constantly being chopped down for commercial purposes such as farm land, and to make paper etc. The government has started handing out contracts to many large companies because it would fair better for the Brazilian economy, however it is a big price to pay because many of the trees there are very old and it takes a long time for them to grow. The demand far exceeds the supply which leads to a gradual depletion of the rainforest's. Not to mention, the rainforest is home to many endangered species and few of the most isolated indigenous people in the world. In more recent times the government has significantly slowed the pace of issuing contracts and started to introduce mass replanting of deforested land.

Land degradation, in it's various forms, is one of the most significant environmental threats facing our earth as a whole. Salinity is predicted to affect six million hectares of agricultural land over the next century, whilst erosion, soil structure decline, acidification and water logging are contributing to the ecosystem decline, reduced productivity levels and damage to roads, buildings, and water reserves. The major causes of land degradation is land clearance, such as clear cutting and deforestation, agricultural depletion of soil nutrients through poor farming practices, land pollution, urban sprawl and commercial development and inappropriate irrigation. We could easily cut the effects in half if we minimized the interference humans have on the environment. If we don't do something soon, the stresses on the vulnerable land can cause soil acidification, soil erosion, soil alkalinisation, soil salination, soil water logging and the general destruction of soil structure. How can we expect anything to grow in further years and continue to produce resources when we constantly mistreat and abuse our environment?

Because of things such as land degradation and deforestation there have been significant declines in the population of many species. Habitat destruction and alteration are probably the most serious causes of species extinction and because of all the problems stated above it cause a serious chain of events that can only end badly. Habitat destruction is defined as the complete elimination of a localized or regional ecosystem leading to the total loss of its former biological function. For example, habitat destruction is most obvious when a species habitat is drained, filled or cut and then converted into such things as housing or agricultural developments. Habitat alterations are changes made to the environment that adversely affect ecosystem function, although not perhaps completely or permanently. One example of habitat alteration is livestock grazing, because of livestock being moved onto natural environment pastures and fields for farming etc. they effectively trample vegetation and cause accelerated erosion. In the simplest terms, when a habitat is destroyed, the plants, animals, and other organisms that occupied the habitat have a reduced carrying capacity so that populations decline and extinction becomes more likely. Perhaps the greatest threat to organisms and biodiversity is the process of habitat loss.

In conclusion I believe it is vital to keep the environment free from human interference as much as possible as the loss of biodiversity and destruction of valuable ecosystems is gradually becoming worse over time and before we know it we will have no resources for anything. Humans as a whole are too greedy only wanting for themselves, and always wanting more. Never realizing the repercussions of their actions. They think they can keep taking and taking and that there will always be more to source from when really, we are vastly running out. We need to take care of the earth and its environment, if we want it to take care of us in return.

[|Resource Depletion] CLICK LINK TO SEE VIDEO.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

// .Wildlife Preservation Society of Australia. // 2011, LYNC, accessed 2 April 2011, . // .Habitat Destruction. // 6 April 2011, Wikimedia Foundation Inc., accessed 7 April 2011, . Pollock, S 1995, //The Atlas of Endangered Resources.//, Belitha Press Limited, Newington Green, London // .Reports Show Humans consuming 1.5 Earths. // 2010, video recording, theGlobalReport // .World's Natural Resource Depletion Forecast. // April 25, 2009, Blogger, accessed 2 April 2011, < [] > .Collins, J February 01, 2001, //Deforestation//, EnvrioFacts., accessed 29 March 2011,  // Deforestation // n.d., National Geographic., accessed 29 March 2011, . // Global Deforestation // 01/04/2010,, accessed 29 March 2011,  // Land Degradation // 5/2/2009, State Government of Victoria, accessed 15 March 2011, []
 * // Bushwalking Australia // 19/10/2010, Bushwalking Australia, accessed 12 April 2011, . ||

'Land Degradation' 4 March 2011, in //Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia//, accessed 2 April 2011, 

'Habitat Destruction' 2011, in // Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia //, accessed 2 April 2011, []

'Resource Depletion' 2011, in // Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia //, accessed 2 April 2011, []

// Habitat Destruction, Alteration, and Fragmentation // May 7, 2008, AmphiaWeb, accessed 2 April 2011,  // Habitat Destruction. // VARIES, Variety of different articles., accessed 12 April 2011,   