What does habitat destruction do to us?

Answer 1

Habitat is more than just a home to cute, warm and fuzzy animals. The part that all creatures play in an ecosystem, and their ability to do their part, is what's important. Even if you live in a development in the suburbs or in a city, you are part of an ecosystem. Healthy, stable ecosystems are cleaner, safer places for *us* to live. Certainly everyone has some wildlife that lives close by- whether there are deer, squirrels, birds, or rodents. Too many of one type of animal and too few of another can lead to disease outbreaks, population excess (think roadkill), lack of food (bears and birdfeeders) and increased wildlife-to-people interaction, all of which affect humans. Also, our food and water has to come from somewhere- clean water is essential. The vegetated corridors along streams, often known as riparian areas, not only provide habitat but help filter chemicals and excess nutrients and sediment before they enter streams. Healthy streams are better able to deal with contaminents, and healthy streams provide clean water. Whether you have a well that takes up groundwater or are hooked up to city water, it comes from that ditch where your neighbor dumps his garbage or the local garage disposes of used motor oil. And, if our food is grown in a sustainable fashion, we will have more of it and the quality will be better. It may be difficult to imagine the destruction of the Amazon rainforest having an affect on you if you live in the US. It affects the people living there for the same reasons our own sustainable agriculture and clean water affect us here, so we should be compassionate and encourage responsible actions across the globe. But places like the Amazon has been shown to have an affect on the global environment, too. Again, it's not just the cute little critters living there, but the entire ecosystem. Trees and other plants affect the air and climate through gas exchange, temperature maintenence, and water consumption. Enough of a disruption in a large enough ecosystem can have an impact across the globe. We have to remember that we do not just live in our home, in our town, in our region. The things we do always affect other people. Enough people negatively impacting enough other people will come back to us. Stopping habitat destruction is not just about saving polar bears or eagles or salmon- it's about preserving healthy ecosystems so that *we* can continue to live in our clean and safe environment.