Biodiversity

Where are we now?

Because modern man no longer hunts across prairies and through woods, gathering daily food needs, we tend to forget the close interrelationship among the plants, animals, air, and water.

Because we have changed things so much, we can no longer take for granted that the air, water, plants, and animals will be able to support our biological needs.

If the world reduces its biological diversity, we in essence remove pieces of the environmental jigsaw puzzle, a puzzle which is tightly intertwined. We might not discern the changes in our lifetimes, but our children and future generations will inherit the results of our neglect.    

Man has the most significant effect of any influence on biodiversity:

• We introduce non-native plants and animals to an area.
• We purposely form new genetic materials, creating a genetic mutation. That may be to our benefit, but sometimes, such a mutation could be dangerous if not controlled (for example, a new virus).

Introduction of non-native plants and animals

Man challenges natural diversity by introducing non-native plants and animals supposedly to enhance our gardens and lives. About 4,000 plant species in the U.S. originated in other countries. Plants that succeed spread from their "enclosed" gardens and invade natural communities. These plants out-compete their natural cousins and literally swamp the native residents.

North Carolina’s story of the introduction of the kudzu plant illustrates how one foreign plant species now dominates some of the area’s landscapes, enveloping trees and roadside banks.

Formation of new genetic materials

Time and time again, we have turned to new genetic material to solve problems in food production and medicine. Now, we are researching ways to biologically generate energy. The "green revolution" of the last 40 years essentially moved the bulk of wheat or rice growth for example into the grain rather than the leaf. Today, some of these benefits help to increase crop production as a source of ethanol and other biofuels.