Colton Korpi

10/22

Global Problems, Local Actions

Today our world faces global problems wherever you look with things such as ​habitat

destruction, biodiversity loss, global climate change, and so many others that never get talked

about or brought up on the news. Our expansion as a human race plays a dramatic role in habitat

destruction. “Habitat loss due to destruction, fragmentation, and the degradation of habitat is the

largest threat to the survival of wildlife in the United States (Habitat Loss, National Wildlife

Federation)”. Now there is a difference between man created habitat loss and habitat loss caused

by natural events. When the human population causes the destruction of a habitat, entire

ecosystems can be lost never to recover, but when nature causes it for example in a landslide the

ecosystem can adapt and recover. When habitats are destroyed and can no longer support life

their native species are driven out of their habitats and are forced to find a new home. This plays

a role in the loss of biodiversity in the world today if we are constantly causing species to leave

their habitats they are less prone to survive and reproduce which cause a decrease in diversity of

that species. “3,000 listed companies around the world are responsible for over $2 trillion in

environmental externalities (Loss of Biodiversity and Extinctions)”. Biodiversity is defined as

“biological diversity in an environment as indicated by numbers of different species of plants and

animals (Biodiversity, Merriam-Webster)”. With all the gaining loss in biodiversity this leads

scientists and conservationists to thinking about what they can do to help the situation.

Conservation is defined as “​planned management of a natural resource to prevent exploitation,

destruction, or neglect (Conservation, Merriam-Webster)”. As we work on conserving these

habitats and ecosystems we figure out ways to sustain the efforts that have been put out to make
sure the resources aren’t being depleted (Sustainability, Merriam-Webster)”. All of this leads to

us being more environmentally responsible and gaining the want to care for the environment and

balance sustaining us as a human race and the other species that surround us. We need to come

together in order to minimize the impact we have on the environment. Biodiversity is a subject

that is essential to us. “​Biodiversity loss can have significant direct human health impacts if

ecosystem services are no longer adequate to meet social needs. Indirectly, changes in ecosystem

services affect livelihoods, income, local migration and, on occasion, may even cause political

conflict (WorldHealthOrganization)”. Over 65% of primate species are currently being

threatened by their extinction. “​This threat is largely due to human activities which degrade,

fragment and destroy their forest habitats, and because of unsustainable hunting, for food, as

pets, for trade, for biomedical research, and for body parts that are valued as fetishes or charms

or for traditional medicine (GlobalWildlifeConservation)”. With such a large chunk of the

primate family being threatened this causes a dramatic decrease in diversity and it damages the

health of the forests this is because a primates main job in the forest is dispersing seeds for new

plant growth so if new plants aren’t growing the forest suffers. Throughout this essay I want to

talk about the efforts put forth by Salt Lake Community college, Salt Lake City, and Utah to help

this situation.

Salt Lake Community College offers a pretty wide variety of practices and opportunities

to get involved with the conservation of the environment and allowing students to make a

difference they offer a number of programs such as the Environmental Science and Sustainability

in this program you learn about the sustainable practices that that you can do on your own, in

your community, and with companies around to help mitigate the risks we bring about as humans

(SLCC Catalog)”. They also offer a degree in Energy Management “this program focuses on
identifying and implementing energy efficiency measures as well as leadership through

sustainable practices (SLCC Catalog)”. Your actions to be conservative aren’t just limited to

school and your personal affiliations Salt Lake City also offers a variety of ways to get involved

and to help be conservative and sustainable. “Salt Lake strives to promote green businesses and

organizations. We also follow Green Meeting Standards for all events and offer meeting and

convention groups sustainable options. Day-to-day, we practice energy conservation, recycling,

and use recycled products while avoiding disposable products (Sustainable Salt Lake)”. Salt

Lake is connected with multiple companies striving to do better at protecting the environment.

Some of the companies that are involved are Alta Ski, Hampton Inn, The Salt Palace, and many

others. Together these companies work together to practice being more sustainable and

conservative. They do this by enforcing some standards when having large gatherings or

get-togethers such as limiting the printing of invitations, having refillable water stations, and

encouraging carpooling (Green Meeting Standards)”. All of these little things are in hopes of

making a difference it may not show it right away, but over time if we all work together and

follow some of the guidelines we can all become more environmentally friendly. Utah as a state

has hundreds of ways to get involved in being more conservative and sustainable with things

such as the Wild Utah Project whose mission is to “provide science-based strategies for wildlife

and land conservation (Wild Utah Project)”. Their hope is to bring the community together to

work as a whole volunteering to help the environment at the same time they want to gain support

from bigger businesses to help with funds in the project. Another way Utah is being conservative

is through a program called Envision Utah which is dedicated in engaging people to sustain their

communities to keep them healthy and prosperous for current and new residents (Sustain Utah).

With a wide variety of programs and opportunities it gives the people living in Utah a way to
become more involved and to help in the efforts of habitat protection, and becoming more

conservative and sustainable.

In Conclusion we as a people need to be more environmentally conservative and

sustainable. It doesn't just help us as humans with all of our day to day lives, it also helps the

species around us and the ecosystems that they call home. If we as humans want to keep

enjoying the things we like to do in life like camping, skiing, and other outdoor activities we

need to get involved and do more to help, because we can’t just constantly abuse and destroy the

environment. Most primatologists study the issues such as habitat destruction, biodiversity loss,

conservation, and sustainability. If they don't, the species that they study and have been

researching their entire careers may all come to extinction due to the expansions made by

humans their habitats are destroyed and are forced to adapt to a new one. After completing my

research and really looking at what's going on around me I have come up with a few things that I

can do to be more environmentally conscious. First I want to try to reach out to some of the

organizations that are devoted to this issue and see what I can do to help whether its collecting

donations or posing about it on social media. Second, I want to slow my use of producing

garbage by doing things such as using a refillable water bottle and eat more natural healthy

things to stop throwing away plastic bottles and wrappers from genetically modified foods. By

doing these things I think I can begin to make a difference in my actions and hopefully influence

those around me to do the same.

Sources

Habitat Loss. (n.d.). Retrieved October 22, 2020, from

https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Threats-to-Wildlife/Habitat-Loss

Shah, A. (n.d.). Loss of Biodiversity and Extinctions. Retrieved October 22, 2020, from
https://www.globalissues.org/article/171/loss-of-biodiversity-and-extinctions

Biodiversity. (n.d.). Retrieved October 23, 2020, from

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biodiversity

Biodiversity. (2012, December 03). Retrieved October 23, 2020, from

https://www.who.int/globalchange/ecosystems/biodiversity/en/

Primates. (2020, March 03). Retrieved October 23, 2020, from

https://www.globalwildlife.org/project/primates/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw28T8BRDbARIsAEOMBczOlB-
uMnLcw0k4tatPpq8pdfVoSq11e5Wfiz4UErc_StLTpMIe7iMaAhXAEALw_wcB

SLCC Catalog. (n.d.). Retrieved October 23, 2020, from

http://catalog.slcc.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=11

Conservation. (n.d.). Retrieved October 23, 2020, from

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conservation

Sustainable Salt Lake. (n.d.). Retrieved October 23, 2020, from

https://www.visitsaltlake.com/about-salt-lake/sustainable-salt-lake/

Visit Salt Lake's Green Meeting Standards. (n.d.). Retrieved October 23, 2020, from
https://www.visitsaltlake.com/about-salt-lake/about-visit-salt-lake/green-meeting-standards/

Wild Utah Project. (n.d.). Retrieved October 23, 2020, from ​https://wildutahproject.org/

Organizations. (2012, September 11). Retrieved October 23, 2020, from

http://www.sustainutah.org/community/organizations/