Companies, organizations and people around the world are changing their lifestyles to reduce climate change. Among the many consequences of global warming is a great decrease in the variety of life, and over time, the sixth mass extinction.
""Ninety-nine percent of the sixth modern extinction is due to man,"" said Christopher Vaughan, professor at UW-Madison's Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology. In order to slow the mass extinction, students can change their consumer behaviors to lessen their carbon footprint. Contrary to this ongoing extinction, scientists have identified previous mass extinctions as mainly the result of natural causes or disasters. According to the Journal of Environmental Education, the growing population, along with the extensive amount of resources used by people, has stressed Earth's ecosystems tremendously.
What's happening?
""Huge numbers of species have died off and become extinct,"" Lucas Moyer-Horner, a teaching assistant from the UW-Madison Zoology department, said. Humans are stressing it at such a rate that the biosphere cannot regenerate itself fast enough. According to Vaughan, overconsumption is the key problem.
""A U.S. citizen produces as many carbon emissions as four Chinese, 20 Indians, 30 Pakistanis, 40 Nigerians and 250 Ethiopians,"" Vaughan said. Humans cause carbon emission from cars or from burning fossil fuels to generate electricity. Simple acts like driving to work or leaving the TV on, compromise the future of species when done unnecessarily. Carbon emission is not the only thing aggravating the way species live. In the past, many other influences like killing animals for commercial purposes or destroying and polluting their habitat have contributed to the sixth mass extinction.
""You combine all of these factors—habitat destruction, overkill, global warming and pollution,"" Moyer-Horner said. ""They act altogether and put a lot of stress on millions of species.""
This extinction means an end to a history of evolution within ecosystems.
Impact on students
""Once [species are] extinct, it takes millions and millions of years for diversity to evolve, so future generations won't have the benefit of those species being here,"" Moyer-Horner said. Some students already feel affected by this change when comparing themselves to older generations. ""I hear stories from my parents and grandparents about how things were when they were growing up and the more specific animals and plants,"" UW-Madison senior Barbara Heindl said. ""Just knowing that I might not be seeing as much as them, and certainly in the future there might be even less.""
How far have students gone?
""Climate change could drive a million of the world's species to extinction as soon as 2050,"" Vaughan said. The consequences extend beyond just the absence of plants and animals in nature.
""Maybe there is some obscure plant somewhere that has precisely the right chemical to treat cancer,"" said Timothy Van Deelen, professor in the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology at UW-Madison. The species' presence in nature serves as a reference for humans in findings for medical and many other purposes.
""A lot of what we depend on in terms of finding new drugs or learning about manipulating molecules, we learn because we find examples of that in nature,"" Van Deelen said. According to Van Deelen, the effects of species lost through extinction could eventually hinder our ability to get clean air, water and abundant food from the ecosystems.
""People ask me, ‘Do you think we're all going to go extinct?'—and the answer is no, but we'll make it very difficult for future generations to live on the planet,"" Moyer-Horner said.
What's the solution?
Overconsumption is harming the environment, but abandoning electricity altogether is not necessary to have a positive impact.
""I don't think people should cut their consumption to zero. That is not realistic,"" Moyer-Horner said. According to Van Deelen, helping the environment is far less complex than making unrealistic sacrifices.
""I think the first step is simple awareness and the second would be to try and reduce your ecological footprint,"" Van Deelen said. For those that do not consider their environment a priority, Van Deelen recommends going outside and creating an appreciation for native plants and animals.
""I think it's important to develop a sense of place,"" he said. ""Living in the downtown Madison is just a very small part of the world. There is a bigger part of the world, particularly the natural [one], that is worth getting to know and in a certain sense, being willing to act and protect something depends on the partial understanding that it is valuable to you.""
At UW-Madison, students have opportunities to join others through organizations like the UW-Madison Wildlife Society and Rethink Wisconsin, which support the local environments and ecosystems.
""It is really easy in Madison to do things that lower your footprint,"" sophomore Diane O'Brien said. ""We have the Farmers' Market, which is huge, and you can easily eat local there.""
Students may also start individually by learning ways to conserve. Jessica Warwick, a member of UW-Madison's student chapter of the Wildlife Society, shared her tips for reducing her carbon footprint.
""I try to save up and buy from somewhere such as Fair Indigo, a local-based business that sells organically grown cotton clothes.""
Warwick cites a concern for the future as a main motivator.
""Every little thing I do [to preserve the environment] makes me feel better. It makes me feel that I'm giving other people an opportunity for the future,"" Warwick said.
Both present and future generations will be affected by the extinction of species and might experience a different earth.
""I wouldn't want my future children to miss out on nature, the environment and the world in general,"" Heindl said. ""It's about equality of life—I would feel really responsible for inhibiting the quality of their life.""
In order to help preserve the greatest number of species, students can alter their habits to reduce their impact on the environment and positively influence the community.
According to Van Deelen, if students develop a connection to their local environment, they will have initiative to protect it.
""If you make [the environment] important to you, then it becomes life-altering.""
