Humans Devoid Of Humanity

 Written by: Janvi Zade

Edited by: Yashi Shah

HABITAT DESTRUCTION

Current rate of deforestation= 160,000 square kilometers/ year.

Rate of extinction every 24 hours= 150-200 species of plants, insects, birds, and mammals.

On an average of 30,000 species per year, i.e. about 3 per hour are getting extinct.

Approximately 80% of damage to biodiversity is all thanks to habitat destruction by humans.

According to experts, 0.01% to 0.1% of species get extinct every year, this means out of all 2 million species on planet Earth, we lose around 200-2000 species every year.

The term habitat is coined from a Latin word ‘habitare’ which means ‘to dwell’. A habitat is a place where a particular species thrives with all its necessities taken care of by mother nature within the habitat. Habitat can be of various types such as forests, grasslands, lakes, oceans, deserts, etc. 

Alas, the current situation is profoundly alarming. Humans with a significant increase in their population have started using natural resources in large quantities, which now interferes with the share of other species as well. Mother Nature has and always had the right share of resources for everyone but it’s flustering how humans think that all resources belong to them. 

The major cause of loss of biodiversity is habitat destruction. Habitat destruction is a process due to which a habitat that earlier was capable enough to harbor biodiversity has now become incapable to do so. Unfortunately, some major causes of habitat destruction are clearing lands and forests for agriculture, mining, logging, trawling, and urban sprawl. All of our actions in some way or another are causing severe threats to the ecosystem. Increase in the hole in the ozone layer, Amazon forest fires, Australian bushfires, floods in our own country that affected 13 states, and many such incidents are high alerts for humans. 

Everyone is aware that it’s we who are wrecking our planet, then how can we tackle this situation? Well, it starts with you. 

You can design small gardens in your balcony or terrace, it will attract more bees and butterflies and the fresh air will help you calm your mind. 

Avoid using plastics and dumping them; go for jute bags. 

Avoid using chemical fertilizers, these may cause leaching consequently damaging the soil quality.

Save water so that the lakes and rivers don’t dry out early.

Everything is shifting online so why use papers for mails. Recycle the old newspaper and notebooks. 

Most importantly focus on population control. We can’t destroy someone else’s home to build our own. 

Go green!