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Learn about the efforts being made to save endangered species and protect natural resources.
What if you were the last person on Earth who knew how to save a disappearing forest or a species on the brink of vanishing forever?
Conservation is the wise use and protection of our natural world. Think of the Earth like a giant battery; if we use all the energy at once without recharging it, the battery dies. Conservation isn't just about 'saving' things; it's about management. We need to use resources like water, soil, and air in a way that ensures they are still around for people 100 years from now. When we don't practice conservation, we see habitat loss, where animals lose their homes, and pollution, which poisons the resources we need to survive. By protecting ecosystems, we maintain the 'balance of nature' that keeps our air clean and our food growing.
Quick Check
In your own words, why is conservation more than just 'leaving nature alone'?
Answer
Conservation involves 'management' and 'wise use' to ensure resources last for the future, not just stopping all use of them.
Everything we use comes from the Earth, but not all resources are created equal. Renewable resources are those that can be replaced naturally in a short amount of time. Examples include sunlight, wind, and trees (if we replant them!). On the other hand, non-renewable resources exist in limited amounts and take millions of years to form. Once they are gone, they are gone for good. Common examples include fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas. If we use non-renewable resources too fast, we run out. Imagine a jar of cookies: if you eat ten a day but only one new cookie appears every year, the jar will soon be empty!
Let's look at a simple resource balance. 1. Suppose a forest has trees. 2. Every year, humans cut down trees for paper. 3. Every year, nature grows back new trees. 4. The net change is calculated as: trees per year. 5. Because the number is negative, this resource is being used unsustainably.
Quick Check
Is wind energy a renewable or non-renewable resource?
Answer
Renewable, because the wind will continue to blow and does not run out when we use it to make electricity.
One of the best ways to protect nature is to set aside land where humans cannot build houses or factories. National Parks are large areas of public land protected by the government for their beauty or unique ecosystems. Wildlife Preserves are similar but focus specifically on protecting endangered species—animals or plants that are at risk of becoming extinct. These areas act like 'islands of safety' where animals can hunt, mate, and raise their young without the threat of habitat destruction. By keeping these areas wild, we protect biodiversity, which is the variety of different life forms in an area.
Imagine a species of bird that needs at least square miles of forest to survive. If a city builds a road through the middle of a square mile forest, it creates two smaller 'islands' of square miles each.
Even though the total land is still square miles, the bird cannot survive because neither individual 'island' is large enough (). Wildlife preserves prevent this by keeping large, connected chunks of land together.
When a species is labeled endangered, it means its population has dropped so low that it might disappear from Earth entirely. This often happens because of the 'Three Ps': Pollution, Poaching, and Population growth (human). Conservationists work to save these species by cleaning up habitats, passing laws against hunting, and sometimes using 'captive breeding' to raise baby animals in zoos before releasing them back into the wild. Every species plays a role in its food web; if one disappears, it can cause a 'trophic cascade' where the whole system collapses.
A group of scientists is trying to save the Blue-Spotted Frog. 1. The current population is . 2. The goal is to reach a stable population of . 3. If the population grows by each year, we use the formula: . 4. Year 1: 5. Year 2: 6. It will take several years of protection to reach the goal of !
Which of these is a non-renewable resource?
What is the primary purpose of a wildlife preserve?
If we use a renewable resource faster than it can grow back, it is being used unsustainably.
Review Tomorrow
In 24 hours, try to list three renewable and three non-renewable resources you used today.
Practice Activity
Research one endangered species in your state or country. What is the main threat to its survival, and is there a local preserve helping it?