Humans Causing The Sixth Mass Extinction

Humans Causing The Sixth Mass Extinction Humans could be causing the sixth mass extinction of the world through the effect the human species has on the planet earth. Human population density increases, climate change due to human activities and increased human exploration and interference of nature are some of the ways humans are on their way to causing the sixth mass extinction. A mass extinction refers to the extinction of a significant proportion of the worlds biota in a geologically insignificant period of time (Hallam Wignall, 2002, p. 2). Put simply this means a large amount of species die out a little amount of time. Raup (1992) suggests that approximately half the earths surface must be environmentally affected in order for a mass extinction, on par with previous mass extinctions, to occur (Hallam Wignall, 2002). Previous mass extinctions have occurred towards the ends of the Ordovician, Devonian, Permian, Triassic and Cretaceous eras (Mader, 2008). These time periods show a sudden marked decrease in biodiversity. Towards the end of the Ordovician period, the climate turned cold and it is believed up to 85% of the earths species disappeared. These species would have consisted of trilobites and brachiopods. The late Devonian mass extinction which was only recently recognised as a mass extinction in the late 1960s, continued for 20-25 million years with several extinction events such as the Kellwasser and Hangenberg (Hallam Wignall, 2002). Species including sponges, calcareous algae, foraminifera and bivalves suffered extinction within this period (Hallam Wignall, 2002). The mass extinction of the late Permian era over 250 million years ago is known to be the most severe with extinction of 54% of marine families and 96% of all marine species (Erwin, 1990). During the Triassic period, plant li fe consisted mainly of confiers and cycads. It was during this time period the first dinosaurs appeared and continued to survive despite a significant decrease in biota towards the end of this era. It is believed that the Cretaceous mass extinction was caused by meteorites that fell to the earth causing a dust cloud. This dust cloud then blocked out the sun, causing atmospheric temperatures to drop and the majority of life on earth to cease. The Creataceous mass extinction marked the extinction of the dinosaurs (Mader, 2008). The sheer increase in human population and density has affected the earths animals. It is estimated that the world population grows at approximately 1.15% per year. Within the 40 years between 1959 and 1999, the world population doubled from 3 billion to 6 billion (Worldometers.info, 2009). This translates to not only an increased strain on natural resources such as water but also increased competition for resources amongst all living things. Human activity has had a tremendous impact on the planet earth. It is estimated between one third and one half of the earths surface has been altered by human activities such as deforestation, forestry and development (Vitousek, Mooney, Lubchenco, Melillo, 1997). These practices alter the earths biodiversity and drive climate change affecting ecosystems which consequently causes disruption to the animal kingdom. Land transformation also directly contributes to climate change with an approximate 20% increased concentration of greenhouse gases an d air pollution (Vitousek, Mooney, Lubchenco, Melillo, 1997). Within the oceans, although the impact of human activity can be difficult to measure, there is significant damage. It is estimated 50% of the worlds mangroves have been destroyed or severely affected by humans (Vitousek, Mooney, Lubchenco, Melillo, 1997). Needless to say, every area of the planet that is affected by humans, affects every living thing surviving within that area. There have been many animals that have existed and become extinct before humans have even discovered they may have once existed at all (Jefferson Zuckerman, 1993). Coupled with the arrival of the first British settlers to Australia came the disappearance of nearly all large mammals and flightless birds (Jefferson Zuckerman, 1993). The largest animal types have suffered extinction such as the Dodo, the elephant birds of Madagascar and the turtles of Galapagos. A predicted 13 000 turtles disappeared within the Galapagos islands between 1838 and 1888 due to their demand as a food supply on crew ships crossing the area (Jefferson Zuckerman, 1993). Such instances of animal extinction due to humans are increasingly common. Recent calculations show that animal extinction has increased by 100 to 1000 times since human domination of the planet (Jefferson Zuckerman, 1993). This translates into approximately 18% of mammals, 11% of birds, 5% of fish and 8% of flora on earth threatened with e xtinction due to human domination (Jefferson Zuckerman, 1993). Although there are countless specific examples of particular species that have become extinct due to reasons directly related to human activity, the extinction of earths megafauna is the most poignant. The extinction of the megafauna, land animals weighing up to 45kg, has been attributed to human colonisation (Roberts, et al., 2001). Megafauna extinction in Australia occurred within the last million years, directly after known human settlement. This extinction pattern continued for North then South America, Madagascar and New Zealand providing evidence to suggest human colonisation could have contributed to the extinction of the megafauna (Roberts, et al., 2001). Humans are causing the sixth mass extinction through continued development to advance the human race without consideration of the environmental impact (Eldredge, 2001). It is predicted three major causes of animal extinction are direct habitat destruction, over exploitation and introduced species. Human consumption and exploitation of natural resources causes changes in the earths atmosphere such as an increase in greenhouse gases leading to increased temperatures on earth. Humans are causing the sixth mass extinction through consumption of natural resources that has a significant impact on the earths flora and fauna. Extinction rates of animals have dramatically increased since human colonisation and will continue to decrease without strict measures of conservation by all.

Diversity Within English Essay -- essays research papers

Diversity Within English   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In order to understand how language variation descriptors are used, we first must understand what language variation is. We can say that the U.S. is linguistically diverse because of the multitude of languages spoken here, but we can also find diversity within these languages. All languages have both dialectical variations and registral variations. These variations, or dialects, can differ in lexicon, phonology, and/or syntax from the Standard Language that we often think of as Å’correct' Language, although they are not necessarily less proper than, say, Standard English. It depends on where, by whom, and in what situation the dialect is used as to whether or not it is appropriate.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Most people are familiar with regional dialects, such as Boston, Brooklyn, or Southern. These types of variations usually occur because of immigration and settlement patterns. People tend to seek out others like themselves. Regional variations tend to become more pronounced as the speech community is more isolated by physical geography, i.e. mountain ranges, rivers. Linguists have done extensive studies on regional dialects, producing detailed Linguistic Atlases. Many linguists can tell where a person is from just by knowing whether a person carries groceries home from the supermarket in a paper bag or from the grocery store in a paper sack (Yule 184). And the person who comes home from the supermarket with a paper sack serves to remind us that language variation is not a discrete, but rather a continuous variable. Characteristics of the dialect are more pronounced in the center of the speech community and tend to be less discernible at the outer boundaries, where they often overlap other regional dialects.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Within, and between, these regional variations we find the social dialects. The primary social factors that influence dialects are class, education, occupation, ethnicity, sex, and age (Ferguson 52, Yule 191). And social dialects can vary on any or all three descriptor levels; syntax or grammar, lexicon or vocabulary, and phonetics or pronunciation. Social dialects are also where the described differences are often defined as stigmatized or nonstigmatized (Ferguson 52). Stigmatized items include use of the double negative (grammar), substituting the d sound for t... ...frequency. Using in' for ing, as in goin' is universal across status groups, but it is found almost twice as often in the lower working class than in the lower middle class, and almost four times more than in the upper middle class (Ferguson 61).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With all these different variables that intersect and overlap with the different dialect variations is is a wonder that any sense can be made of American English at all. But there two other important point to remember. Language universals such as displacement, arbitrariness, productivity, cultural transmission, discreteness and duality are unique to human language (Yule 22) and provides a base or norm for measuring variations. Implicational relationships provide a way of measuring relative distance between the different variations and also serve as a means to predict changes in individual dialects (Ferguson 66). Works Consulted Ferguson, Charles A., and Shirley Brice Heath, eds. Language in the USA. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1981. Piatt, Bill. Only English? Law and Language Policy in the United States. Albuquerque: U of New Mexico P, 1990. Yule, George. The Study of Language. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1985.

Clinical psychology

Throughout this course I learned about many models and theories related to behavioral therapy. My endeavor during the last five weeks through the world of behavioral theories has Ignited and opened my eyes to a career that I never thought that I was ready for or even in to.In this paper about personal models of helping, the following topics about cognitive behavioral therapy will be explored: How and why my viewpoint was formed from the following personal models, my view of helping, the relationship between the clinician and the participant regarding this model, quenches or approaches to change, and a coherent model that Is consistent to the course material. Additionally, the kinds of problems that can be addressed, the multi cultural issues behind this topic, the limitations and strengths, the population this model can help, and the original thinking behind these models.Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy So, what is Cognitive-behavioral therapy and why is it important? According to The A lbert Ellis Institute â€Å"Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CAB was developed my Dry. Albert Ellis In 1955 and It was developed Individuals manage their emotional, behavioral and cognitive 1) The Cognitive Model as described by The Beck Institute of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is â€Å"how peoples perceptions of, or spontaneous thoughts about, situations influence their emotional, behavioral reactions. (Para. 1). So what does this mean in plainly? It means that every persons emotional reactions are a result of their environment and their environment is the result of their emotional reactions. CAB seeks to take someone distorted or dysfunctional thoughts and behaviors and correct them so that they resemble something closer to a reality. These maladaptive behaviors are unhealthy and unproductive to an individuals life and can create an environment that promotes anxiety, depression, and isolation.Viewpoint Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CAB) is an interesting and exciting model becau se the whole point of this therapy Is not accepting that a behavior is permanent and that anything can be changed with the right finesse and will. The reason I formed this viewpoint Is because of my brother Jason. Jason has always been the type of anything. This is one of the reasons why I have pursued the field of psychology since I started college. As I said earlier, The Cognitive Model Seeks to change behaviors that re unhealthy for a person and the environment around the person.Now I accept the fact that maladaptive behaviors are all decided on the society or environment that a person lives in, and in saying that, this society does not accept this type of behavior, or at least I don't believe it does. For many years, I possessed a certain viewpoint towards my brother that created resentment and hate towards him, because I did not understand the basic principles of a theory like the cognitive model. In the last 2 years I have grown to appreciate my brothers behaviors for what the y are, distorted ND dysfunctional.This has allowed me to take a large amount of bias and negativity towards him and â€Å"squash it†. Now, I am not a therapist, and I do not claim to be. Because of this, there is only so much of this therapy that I have comfortable with trying. When I started trying to help my brother empower himself and helping him feel more confident in his life, I could tell instantly that he thought as if I were Joking with him or making fun of him. He did not trust me. Because of this lack of trust, it made it trickier to help him.This lack of trust came from so many years of not being round him as much as I should have been and because I myself never treated him like an adult. My viewpoint was formed not only because of my brothers behaviors, but also because of me and my other family members that had always granted Jason the position of being the failure in the family since the day he made his first mistake. This has created an enormous sense of respon sibility for me to help others and it gives me the drive and interest in these behavioral models like the cognitive theory of psychopathology, The Cognitive Model.My View of Helping My view of helping is very simple. If I can create a sense of empowerment and responsibility in someone life that make that person feel better about themselves and promotes healthy relationships than I have used my time on earth the right way. My view of helping extends much farther than this still. As I have heard in many of of my classes is that many therapists and counselors use theories of different therapists models to help their clients achieve the results they want to attain. In my career I hope to reach farther and find a theory that is my own.I believe that a theory only makes sense if the person that you are using it with is being helped by it. What I mean by this is that I believe that no one theory is best for each and every person. I know that each individual could benefit from a collection of two theories or possibly a theory that might be tailored specifically for that behavior. Clinician and Participant The relationship of a clinician and a participant regarding behavioral therapy is important to the success of the therapy. Each clinician dealing with a participant that has behaviors that they are looking to change needs that support and guidance of the clinician.During therapy it is necessary to constantly remind each participant hat while they may not be able to control the environment around them, they are capable of controlling and understanding those emotions to better sustain themselves in that environment (Cherry, 2013). Approaches to Change and Problems Addressed Individuals often follow a certain set of beliefs that are reinforced by the beliefs of their family or the people around them. This is where the components of behavioral Emotive Therapy or RET is an approach the aims to assist anyone with problems overcoming or coping with difficulties achieving th eir goals.RET addresses emotions hat are unhealthy such as, anger, anxiety, depression or guilt. After working towards the goal of eliminating certain behaviors that are considered unhealthy, RET, then focuses to introduce new behaviors or beliefs that are healthier and realistic (Ellis Institute, 2014). Course Material During this course, Models of Effective Helping, the main focus of the learning was on behavior and the theory surrounding behavioral therapy. The theories I personally focused on most of the five week course had to do with behavioral changes.My thought on behavioral therapy is that I consider behavioral therapy to be the most effective type of therapy when trying to correct attitudes or habits that are harmful to them or someone around them. I learned about Dry. Albert Ellis and The Cognitive Model, Ivan Pavlov and his work on Classical Conditioning, and Dry. William Glasses with his creation of Reality Therapy, and development of Choice Theory. These individuals ha ve all shaped my view of how I would use these theories or treat a patient. My view point is leading me to the inevitable role of psychotherapist.Because of this course and all of the interesting theories in it, a passion has come sack to me and many theories have been learned that are all vital in the quest of my career as a behavioral therapist. Multicultural Issues Multicultural issues play a dominant role in how a client finds help or even if that same client receives help at all (Good Therapy, 2014). These multicultural issues range from sexual orientation, race, religion, ethnicity and culture. Additionally a therapy session can depend on what the multicultural issues are with the therapist.Each therapist has a simple set of beliefs that they follow in their daily lives that may also be applied in their therapy practices. Many families in America see mental health conditions as reason for seeing a health professional for help. The difference for someone that has cultural norms may see their family members as someone that talks to god because of their religion, or a certain ethnic traditions accepts this behavior as ritualistic. It is a necessity for each therapist to know a persons conditions as well as their culture considerations so that their therapists will know how to appropriately handle each person differently.Limitations and Strengths The limitations of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CAB) are inevitable to arise with some individuals. When dealing with problems in life, some people will inevitably associate negative feelings with these problems and create a habit of feeling negatively whenever dealing with similar results. The human mind is complex and because of this, there is always going to be a situation that will test someone therapy which can easily back track someone success in therapy.These limitations are present in all models and therapies. Each person is different and because of these differences, and therapy model that may work complet ely for one person may not work entirely for another. The best way to avoid falling back into old habits is to ATA in therapy, keep practicing these good behaviors, and recognize when you are using self-defeating behavior. The strengths with CAB are more beneficial than the limitations and because of this fact, CAB is considered to be one of the most recognizable forms of therapy.These strengths include: Helping mentally ill short term, The way that this therapy is structured creates an type of environment that is conducive in different settings (group settings, one on one, and even self help books) that ultimately allow individuals to find comfort through an environment that allows them feel more comfortable. CAB not only allows for the safe environment that individuals look for, but during this therapy it teaches them to cope with future situations that may have been hard to deal with previously.Population Served CAB is a therapy that can help any population that is having problem s with depression, anxiety, drug abuse, even sleep problems. CAB helps each individuals with these problems become a stronger, more effective individual that can cope easily with hard decisions or situations. A few specific populations that would benefit would be the mentally ill population, The military population and there families, Alice officials, families, and individuals with traumatic pasts. Each of these populations success is dependent on how well each of these groups or individuals follow the therapy and there willingness.This willingness is decided on many factors that are personal to each of these people. Original Thinking The original thinking behind this model was to help individuals change behavior that was dangerous to the person with the habit. Originally Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CAB) was created by Dry. Albert Ellis in 1955 and later developed by many other therapist. The basic and original thought behind CAB was that problems were to caused by situations alon e, but how we, as individuals, interpret these situations, which cause out emotional responses and actions (BBC, 2014).This thinking when it started was considered so different and untrue. The thought in the sass when this theory was created was that each persons emotions came from themselves, not because of the situations in that environment. Personally, was my grandfather was still around, he always told me that no matter how hard something becomes, a persons character defines their emotions, he was a firm believer that a persons behavior was a product of themselves, because this is how god made everyone. This had never made sense to me, and so I shrugged whenever I heard this story.Conclusion Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy is a theory that assists individuals in changing maladaptive behaviors that are unhealthy and distorted. We explored the beginning of CAB, my viewpoint of the theory of behavioral therapy, the relationship between the clinician and participants, the approaches to change and problems addressed, my course material for this course, the multicultural issues surrounding this therapy, he limitations and strengths, the populations served and the original thinking behind this therapy model.

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