Re: If the extiction of organisms is normal, why is man trying to prevent this?

Dear Elizabeth,
You are correct that extinction is a natural event, however, many 
organisms are becoming extinct due to man's pressures.  We have pushed 
species to the brink of extinction because of land clearing, over hunting, 
pollution, and other factors.  For example, man has sprayed herbicides and 
pesticides on crops to improve productivity, however, when certain species 
of plants or bugs are gone from the environment, birds and other animals 
that rely on these plants and bugs for food are now forced to find another 
food source or die. 
 Additionally, man has continued to grow in population and areas for these 
animals are now scarce and becoming overcrowded.  Thousands of plant 
species become extinct everyday due to clearing and burning the land for 
living space and cropland.  One of these species could hold the cure for 
cancer or HIV or other diseases.  
So, man has decided that if organisms become extinct due to the natural 
processes then we should not interfere, but if these organisms are 
becoming extinct due to our presence then we should repair the damage, if 
we can.  Unfortunately, there are times we can’t repair the damage and 
species are lost every day because man does not tread lightly on this 
earth and our footsteps can be felt the world over.
I hope this helps your questions and if you have any more, please feel 
free to contact me for further discussions.  Thank you.
				Heather      hdv65@msn.com