Major Factors Contributing To Habitat Loss Essay Example for Free

Major Factors Contributing To Habitat Loss Essay Fragmentation and degradation are two major contributors that go hand in hand with development. Hillstrom and Hillstrom point out that Inefficient community design is one cause of habitat fragmentation. Another is the haphazardly built system of secondary highways and roads that is both a cause and result of sprawl(12) . When subdivisions go in, more and more often they are homes with one to two acre zoning, resulting in the sprawl for one housing development covering even more area. Throughout the United States millions and millions of miles of these interconnected roads and highways, that serve to connect the housing and the commercial developments, form barriers, creating separated little oasis, of sustainable habitat. As development proceeds, subdivisions, factories, and strip malls spread even further afield, all being connected to each other by this constantly growing network of tar and concrete. It is an endless cycle of human growth and expansion, and connection. Not enough care and planning is being taken to keep wildlife habitat, animal life, and biodiversity alive and thriving. Regarding Fragmentation of habitat, Silberstein and Maser refer to it as The most serious threat to biological, genetic, and functional diversity(13). Maser and Silberstein cite that fragmentation Is the primary cause of not only the often discussed global crisis of the rate of biological extinctions but also the less discussed crisis regarding the rate of local extinction(14). (12) Hillstrom Kevin, Hillstrom Laurie Collier. North America: A Continental Overview of Environmental Issues. Edition: illustrated, Published by ABC-CLIO, 2003. P. 18. (13) Johnson Elizabeth Ann. Klemens Michael W. Nature in Fragments: The Legacy of Sprawl. Edition: illustrated, Published by Columbia University Press, 2005. P. 43. (14) ) Maser Chris, Silberstein Jane, Land-use Planning for Sustainable Development. Published by CRC Press, 2000,p. 43. 5 Fragmentation causes the formation of those islands of refuge, that the animals in the area naturally are drawn, to in search of sustainable habitat. It does not usually take too long, before so many animals are drawn into the enclosed havens, confined by the spiderweb of roads and highways, that the food sources available there become too depleted to support the refugees contained within the man made boundaries. Fragmentation, and the total stripping of vegetation and food sources in these areas destroys the biodiversity of the habitat in a manner it may not ever be able to recover from even after the animals are gone, either starved to death or attempting to migrate elsewhere. Authors Emel and Wolch, in their book, Animal Geographies’ state that Some animals can adapt to such fragmentation and to the human proximity it implies, but more commonly animals die in situ, or migrate to less fragmented areas(15) , and as already noted, migration across the man made roadways is a risk as well. Smaller animals such as bird varieties, and squirrels, lower life forms such as insects and such are able to adapt, and at times even thrive in small park like settings, but foxes, racoon, deer, and other larger predatory animals like bears, and cougars have no place within man’s neighborhoods. Degradation of the habitat is just as bad, it may take a little longer to become apparent, but often when an area is identified, it is already in danger of complete collapse. Many times the corporations are only exposed as guilty of negligent practices resulting in contamination, and or polluting an area, after a major animal die off draws attention to the problem. â€Å" The threats of massive environmental degradation and species extinction and the commodification of billions of animals as the economy goes global have led to turbulent politics surrounding animals(16). Oil spills, chemical releases, water source contamination have all made headlines, and help draw attention to the situation, and create awareness of the plight of animals in our areas. (15) Emel Jody, Wolch Jennifer. Animal Geographies: Place, Politics, and Identity in the Nature-culture Borderlands, Edition: illustrated, Published by Verso, 1998,p. 127. (16) Ibid. p. 8. 6

Pride And Prejudice :: Jane Austen books

The story begins with the Bennet family in their estate, Longbourn in Hertfordshire, a rural district about thirty miles from London. Mrs. Bennet tells her husband about Mr. Bingley who is moving into their neighborhood. She hopes he will end up marrying one of her daughters because her main â€Å"goal† in life is to see her daughters married. Mr. Bingley is a rich and handsome man with little self-esteem. He also falls in love with Jane, the oldest of the Bennet sisters. Bingley’s friend, Darcy doesn’t like them together because he doesn’t think too highly of Jane. Darcy is the main male character in the story. He is also rich and handsome but very cocky. He plans with the Bingley’s sisters to break up Mr. Bingley and Jane Bennet. Meanwhile, Darcy has a â€Å"crush† on Jane’s sister Elizabeth. She is the main female character, the second on the Bennet sisters and despises Darcy at first, but later falls for him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Elizabeth doesn’t like Darcy because she hears bad thing about him and how he is rude to everyone. George Wickham told her Darcy cheated him out of his inheritance. She believes him because she holds so much hate for Darcy. Later she learns that George lied to her. But before she found out, they almost fall in love.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mr. Bennet has no son, so his estate will be given to his closest male relative. The closest relative is his cousin, Mr. Collins. He is an arrogant clergyman. He asks Elizabeth to marry him but she refuses. He ends up marrying Elizabeth’s friend Charlotte Lucas. She married him not for love, but so she will have a safe and secure life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Elizabeth goes and sees Charlotte at Hunsford and Darcy comes to see his aunt, who also lives there. His aunt’s name is Lady Catherine de Bourgh. She is a rich, busy noblewoman. Elizabeth and Darcy run into each other. Darcy asks Elizabeth to marry him but she says no because she still doesn’t like him. She said she was upset because he messed up Jane and Bingley’s love affair and also cheated Wickham. He admits to messing with Jane and Bingley, but tells her that Wickham is a jerk. She ends the conversation by saying that she would not marry him even if he were the last man on the earth. The next morning he meets Elizabeth when she goes out for a walk and hands her a long letter that answers all her accusations. Elizabeth now believes him, but is still in shock.

Confusion – personal writing

Rosie ran a brush through her copper-gold, long, silky hair and smiled contentedly. After a touch of lip-gloss was applied she was satisfied with her reflection, so she grabbed her jacket and bounded down to where her Mother was waiting. â€Å"Okay honey?† her Mum asked smiling. â€Å"Yes, fine thank you Mum.† Rosie replied cheerfully. Rosie was adopted as a child and lived with her mother and adoptive brother in a renovated house in Yorkshire. Her Mother was single and Rosie had never had any contact with her natural parents. Rosie loved her life, she was seeing a lovely guy and her Mum and her were just going to the local shopping center were she was going to meet up with him. Rosie and her Mum, Nicola drove down the motorway in their Renault. It was a beautiful day, Rosie thought to herself as she gazed at the deep, blue sky making shapes in her mind out of the puffy, white candyfloss like clouds. Suddenly her head was thrown sideways against the window and a loud screeching filled her ears. Then all the noise, all the visions were gone and Rosie felt strangely peaceful. Rosie opened her eyes and all she could see was white. She tried to sit up but her head hurt so much she slumped back down again. From that position she tried to figure out her surroundings. She was looking straight upwards at a plain, white ceiling without a blemish on it. She slowly and painfully turned her head and was faced with a blue curtain. To puzzled to be panicked she tried to figure out where she was. She didn't have long to wait. The blue curtain was yanked backed and an extremely harassed looking man looked in. â€Å"Let me see my daughter, where is she?† he was saying. â€Å"Please sir you're disturbing the patients,† a nurse was telling him worriedly. â€Å"Oh thank goodness!† said the strange man and started hugging Rosie. At first Rosie was to shocked to respond and then she pushed him away with all the strength she could muster. â€Å"What do you think you are doing?† Rosie spluttered. â€Å"Darling, what's the matter? What's wrong?† the man asked Rosie, and then turning to the nurse he repeated, â€Å"What's wrong? Why doesn't she recognize me?† â€Å"I'm sorry, she's been through a lot. She needs some rest, please come back later when things are a bit clearer to her.† â€Å"What do you mean?† the strange man demanded, his voice rising, â€Å"This is my only daughter lying here, I need to be with her.† † I realise you must be anxious but the best thing you can for your daughter now is to let her rest, so please I must ask you to leave.† Reasoned the nurse. The man seemed to be fighting a battle with himself to control his emotions. It looked like he won and he seemed to use a lot of self-restraint as he said, â€Å"Fine, I'll see you later Jenny, and just remember Daddy loves you.† Then he walked out. â€Å"Try and get some rest dear.† Soothed the nurse, and then she followed him, shutting the curtain as she left. Jenny lay back, a million thoughts running through her head at once.

Analysis Of Aecom s Delivers Clean Water And Energy Essay

Company Overview AECOM ‘delivers clean water and energy. Builds iconic skyscrapers. Plans new cities. Restores damaged environments. Connects people and economies with roads, bridges, tunnels and transit systems. Designs parks where children play. Helps governments maintain stability and security. We connect expertise across services, markets, and geographies to deliver transformative outcomes. Worldwide, we design, build, finance, operate and manage projects and programs that unlock opportunities, protect our environment and improve people’s lives. We are AECOM. Built to deliver a better world.† AECOM stands for architecture, engineering, construction, operations, and management. AECOM had revenue of $18 billion US in fiscal year 2015 and is the #1 Design Firm for the 7th consecutive year. AECOM has built some of the most iconic buildings in the World. They have built or managed the construction of the World Trade Center, the last two Olympics, LAX, and 4 NFL Stadiums. Risk Management and Insurance Risk management is an essential part of AECOM’s business model. AECOM has local, state, and government clients that demand on AECOM’s ability to make their cities resilient. They actually have seven service offerings around risk management/resiliency. †¢ Critical Infrastructure Protection †¢ Physical Security and Hardening †¢ Climate Change Adaptation †¢ Cybersecurity †¢ Disaster Risk Reduction †¢ Hazard Mitigation Planning †¢ Disaster Recovery AECOM maintains insurance covering