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 What is extinction?  Why are extinction rates rising?  What activities by humans are leading to loss of biodiversity?

 Human populations have increased in size rapidly  Humans are consuming more of the Earths resources and creating more waste.

 Clearing natural vegetation to grow food leads to habitat reduction and loss of biodiversity  Hunting animals for food or sport reduces wild populations

 Pest control  Introduction of non native species  Pollution

 Active intervention or management to preserve or restore habitats or individual species

 What type of arguments are these?  Wild organisms are useful for design solutions, new drugs or new commercial molecules.  The natural environment is beautiful and gives people pleasure and relief from stress.  Animals and plants have a right to exist. They have adapted perfectly to their niche.  Natural habitats form and preserve soil, regulate the proportion of gases in the atmosphere, contribute to the water cycle, recycle nutrients and provide crop pollinators.