Extinction of biological species is not necessarily a phenomenon initiated by human activity, some argue. Although the specific role of extinction in the process of evolution is still being researched and debated, it is generally accepted that the demise of any biological species is inevitable. Opponents of special efforts to protect endangered species invariably point this out. They also suggest that the role of homo sapiens in causing extinction should not be distinguished from that of any other species. This position, most often espoused by individuals whose other views are curiously much more anthropocentric, is contrary to some well established facts. Unlike other creatures that have inhabited the Earth, human beings are the first to possess the technological ability to cause wholesale extermination of species, genera or even entire families of living creatures. This process is accelerating. Wildlife management efforts initiated d

Over eons, these and other factors have interacted to produce an amazing diversity of both landscapes and species. More than a third of the plants native to California are endemic, either evolving here in response to the continual opening up of new ecological niches, or finding refuge here after geologic change had altered their homelands.

In addition, it is important to augment the number of educators, scientists, and engineers who live in developing countries, only about one in twenty of the world's scientists and engineers live there. Without technical knowledge and expertise, the chances for most less-developed nations to achieve sustainable productivity are poor. All nations must be given the opportunity to explore multiple paths, consistent with their own social values, for making biodiverisity an indispensable ingredient of socioeconomic, cultural, and scientific development.

The ongoing elimination of a sizable portion of the Earth's biota is probably the clearest sign that the manner in which we use the natural environment is not sustainable. The intensity of our exploitation of natural resources is simply too great. In the past 40 years, human beings have wasted over a fifth of the Earth's topsoil, destroyed more than half of its forests, polluted most fresh and onshore marine waters, and profoundly changed the characteristics of the atmosphere.

In today's world, economic resources are highly concentrated in industrialized countries, where most of the world's goods are consumed by a minority of the global population. Seventy-seven percent of the people in the world - most of whom live in less-developed nations - have only about 15 percent of the world's wealth, consume only 10 to 15 percent of the world's natural resources, and generate about 10 to 15 percent of the world's pollution. This global inequality is one of the major factors contributing to overuse of resources and destruction of natural habitats.

Most public attention given to endangered species has focused on mammals, birds, and a few varieties of trees. Ecologists recognize a far greater threat to the much larger number of species of reptiles, fish, invertebrates, and plants that are being wiped out by human activity. In the past few decades, vast areas in several regions of the world have been cleared to make room for urban development or for food production. Modern agriculture techniques and industries' need for raw material have contributed to the epidemic of extinction.

In terms of biodiversity, extinction is more than the loss of individual species, it is the degradation of the ecological complexes that support all life on this planet. The set of plant, animal, fungus and microorganism species that occur together at a particular place make possible the functioning of an ecosystem at that place. Undisturbed ecosystems, with their natural level of biodiversity - regulate the flow of energy and the cycling of n

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Approximate Word count = 1971
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)