Endangered Species (continued)

All of the endangered species aren't all just land animals, there are many that live in the water. You may not think there would be any endangered animals in the water because we don't use anything from their habitat or live in their habitat. Some of the time they become endangered because we try to help their habitat. One animal that was affected by this was the June Sucker in Utah Lake in Northern Utah. Humans had brought a lot of Carp to Utah Lake to let it adapt, but over the years the Carp became very numerous and kept eating the June Suckers food and the June Suckers. Carp is now overpopulated while the June Sucker is very rare to find and their species is dying out. Carp make up about 90% of the fish in Utah Lake. Because of this there has been a law made to take out at least 30 million pounds of carp. Without the June Suckers and other rare species of fish, the Carp will become too populated and increase the turbidity of the water. It also destroys submerged vegetation that provides homes for other species of fish.

June Sucker

Endangered Species

There are many species that have gone extinct and ones that are endangered. Many of these animals are endangered because poachers kill the animals for their furs, horns, tusks, and feathers. To some people, the life of the animal is less valuable than their body parts. Because of this there have been many animals that have become endangered.
Another way that animals have become endangered is from habitat loss. This can happen when the trees in their environment are chopped down and used for other things. It can also happen when their resources run out or when humans start building their homes and buildings in their habitat. They can also become endangered by running out of food, having too many predators in their area, and isolation of populations.
One animal that is endangered is the Asian Elephant because of their valuable ivory tusks that can be used for piano keys or other ornamental keys. It is also threatened by losing its habitat. The Panda Bear because their food source and homes (the bamboo) is being chopped down for other use. Many other animals are effected by this problem also. 
There are many other animals that are affected by these things and have become endangered. We can help them by restoring their habitat to them, stop poaching them, or leave them in their habitat free from danger to reproduce enough to become more common.

Polar Bear/endangered

Asian Elephant/endangered

Panda Bear/endangered

Water Pollution

One of the biggest problems that we don't think much about is water pollution. We all know about it, but we don't know how big of a problem it really is.
Water pollution effects the water we drink, the water we use to clean ourselves, the water that wildlife drinks from, and many other necessities that we use everyday. Did you know that a person uses around 100 gallons of water per day? This includes Shower water, water for brushing teeth, shaving, washing dishes in dishwasher, using the toilet, and many other tasks you do throughout the day. Only 0.003% of all the water in the world is fresh and unpolluted. Water pollution not only effects the water, but also hurts the plants and animals living inside of the water. There are many organisms who are almost completely wiped out, because of the water contamination in their habitat. It also affects the community that the water is in. It can spread and effect the environment around it and pass to other areas.
Many of the ways that water systems have gotten polluted is from chemicals, pathogens, physical or sensory changes, and garbage. This can be caused by abandoned mines, mines that aren't well cared for, contaminated water systems, and run-offs of chemicals. Most of these bodies of water that are contaminated are caused by humans that are not educated on this issue and don't know what harm they really are doing. Water pollution can cause many diseases to all of the people drinking or using it. One of the most common symptoms is diarrhea where they can get dehydrated and usually die. Most children who get these diseases die before they turn 5 years old.



This is one of the many places that is affected by water pollution from mines. It is in India in the South Goa waters. The mines excrement has run off into the water and begun polluting it and causing harm to many of the people using that water as a resource.

This is a picture of a polluted river draining an abandoned copper mine on Anglesey.