Ecological Issues: An analysis of a Cry of the Kalahari - Essay Example

Ecological Issues: An analysis of a cry of the Kalahari The cry of the Kalahari is a book documenting the lives of two young biologists in the Kalahari Desert who went out to conduct a research. The book documents the activities of the two researchers who after meeting in college, learning together and getting married are motivated by the ecological issues of the time to study animals and the environment and how they can help protect it. After a long time of struggle to raise some money they finally are able to go begin their research in a land that is cut from the rest of the world (owens & Owens 5). They land at a deception valley found along a fossil river bed. The place is located deep in the Kalahari game reserve. While at this place they are able to study so many wild animals, putting down all they saw day after day. The variety of animals they see astonishes them as they have never seen some of those animals elsewhere in the world or heard about them. They are also able to study migratory patterns as they are faced with the high temperatures of the Kalahari that were more than 120 degrees, the severe drought and lack of water causes them many issues as they lie isolated from people. The experience was intense for them as they struggled to live on the little they had saved before begging the journey (owens and Owens 15). Mark and Delia are motivated by the need to save the environment and to make people know the importance of saving or protecting animals. This was because of the incident that mark saw as a young boy where a farm was cleared by trucks in order to pave way for the construction of a highway. Mark felt that it was not right as this also changed his life for good. He decides to go to college to learn more about environmental protection and this is where a he meets Delia, a young lady as passionate about ecological issues as he was. Together they spend seven years in the wild living with the animals and learning so much about them each and every day (owens and Owens 3). Throughout the book we experience a connection that ties us to the wildlife, the nature, the desert and the lives of the two young researchers. We experience their quarrels, their problems, their fears and their worries. Their documentation of the wildlife and the various behavior patterns, migration patterns are thorough. They learn much about themselves and how they need to live. They appreciate the Kalahari and how the wildlife co-exist. Through their eyes we see a number of problems that are evident and their zeal to solve these issues and protect the wild and the environment. In the end when they leave we feel like they are leaving the animals back. However they leave more knowledgeable than they came. A variety of issues arise from this text. We can see the interplay of various ecological issues in this text. A lot is said about the animals and their behaviors and migration patterns but human interference is evident in the text. The current ecological issues are not different from the experiences and the problems we seen in the text. One of the biggest problems that led to many ecological problems is the issue of industrialization (Gelletly 50). Industrialization simply means the process in which a society or a given country or region of the world transforms itself from an agricultural society to one that is based primarily on the manufacturing of goods and services. The individual manual labor is often replaced by machine production and the people or craftsmen are replaced by assembly lines (Morris 20). Technology is highly relied upon as opposed to superstitions and the reliance on the factors that are outside human control. The problem with industrialization since the eighteenth and nineteenth century is the destruction of vast pieces land in order to establish industries. This has two immediate effects on the environment: (a) the displacement of the wildlife which rely on a specific part of the destroyed environment for their survival and (b) the disturbance of the ecological system of a given place (Hong 34). A country like Botswana as mentioned in the text is still a growing nation. It is a third world country which has not yet established itself like countries in the west. The people are still primitive and most of them are illiterate. The country has worked just like others to establish industries that are slowly eroding nature and sending the animal populations to seek refuge elsewhere (owens and Owens 78 ). This is bad and is the same motivation that sent mark to learn about protecting the wild. The destruction of trees in order to pave way for a highway is part of industrialization and this is one of the biggest issues that is causing the destruction of nature. Industrialization and urbanization go hand in hand though urbanization is a subset of industrialization (owens & Owens 3). The second problem is deforestation which is the cutting down of trees. The forests have been cleared for various purposes. The problem is that these trees are cleared and there are no policies put in place to conserve these forests. If any those policies are not followed or are neglected and therefore nothing substantial is done to ensure that forests survive. This can be seen with the destruction of the tropical forests not only in Africa but also in America- the Amazon (Vajpeyi 20). This has led to change in weather and climatic conditions that are responsible for the high temperatures of the Kalahari. Mark agrees that they endured high temperatures throughout because of the little forest cover. The third biggest ecological problem of the 21st century is global warming. Scientists agree that global warming is as a result of the vast amount of greenhouse gases which are emitted by humans to the environment. A research established that there are a number of greenhouse gases that cause global warming and humans emit them in a number of ways. (National Geographic) Most of the gases come from the combustion of fuels in cars and factories. They identified that the gas most responsible for global warming is carbon dioxide. Others include methane and nitrous oxide. The gases would not have been a big problem if there were forests. Nature takes care of itself (Maslin 45). Even the most difficult places like the Kalahari, life still exists. Mark talks of the surviving lions and hyenas that survived without drinking water and very little food to eat. Trees or the presence of forests would have consumed the carbon dioxide but the problem of global warming is being aggravated by the continued destruction of forests. The effect of global warming is the rise in temperatures that is being experienced all over the world. This can be seen from the melting glaciers and sea ice, the shifting precipitation patterns and the shifting of animals from place to place. In the text the last impact is greatly observed with the mass migration of antelopes from one part of the game reserve to the other. The antelopes are looking for pastures and water to keep them going. They try to survive in the scorching heat but some do not make it. The global warming is the resultant of such temperatures in the Kalahari (owens and Owens 152). Pollution is another ecological issue that is taking center stage in the world. In the early 1970 the word corporate social responsibility emerged as a result of the continued impact that the industries were having on the environment. Environmental pollution became an issue with the companies seeking ways in which they can rehabilitate the environment that they have destroyed in terms of mining or contamination through chemicals and other emissions into the air and water. Currently, many civil rights groups and activists are working on ensuring that industries and other companies are ethically responsible and they take care of the environment. The most amazing thing about the Kalahari is the environment that sits steal without the pollutants (Harrison 50). The only problem that we can see is that of wildfires that are caused essentially by the humans leading to air pollution and even the death of animals, plants and the destruction of the ecosystem. The animals are so peaceful because they have never seen humans, they have never been shot at, and they have never been polluted by the many tests that are conducted on animals by humans. This is what mark and Delia want to see. They believe in the peaceful coexistence of man and the wild animals just as they were sleeping next to the pack of lions (owens and Owens 2). The environmental pollution is what leads to decrease in the habitats leading to human-wildlife conflicts (Harrison 55). This brings us to a different matter altogether about environmental conservation. Both plants and animals need to be protected if the current ecological issues continue to persist. A number of civil society groups, governments and concerned groups have come up with a number of ways for environmental conservation. All these are aimed at protecting both plants and animals and the environment generally for the good of the whole universe. Marks says that he heard frightening reports from Africa about the disappearing wildlife as a result of being pushed out by large ranches and urban prowl (owens and Owens 2). In Botswana for example the wildlife were being poisoned or shot to protect the domestic animals. Some of the ethnic tribes in Botswana are still hunters and therefore depend on the wild meat. They shot these animals for food (owens and Owens 58). He also noticed that there were no conservation policies or practices in some of the African nations and this made it difficult to conserve wildlife. Therefore the aim of the research was actually to study the African wild in a large pristine wilderness and then use the results of the study to come up with a conservation program for the ecosystem (owens and Owens 60). A variety of conservation programs for the ecosystem exist. The first is research management and conservation of wild populations and habitats. Many countries have invested a lot in research in ways in which they can conserve the environment and prevent from destruction. The UNEP is one such international body that is involved heavily in matters concerning the environment. The UN- HABITAT is also another body that that supports initiatives aimed at protecting and conserving the environment. These bodies support scientists and other country initiatives that are aimed at conserving the environment. Some set laws and policies that are the basis for individual countries to enact their laws that are aimed at conserving the ecosystem (Kumar 81). The second method is planning, monitoring and enforcements related to land, sea and resource uses, environmental assessment, pollution and species at risk. Planning will involve looking at the areas that need conservation and these may be country specific while others may be general. The plans may include the facilities and resources that are required to set up the conservation centers or the identification of the areas that need conservation (Kumar 85). Monitoring is done after the programs are established so that they remain on course and sustainable. Enforcements are seen in the laws established that are geared towards the protection of ecosystems. The laws and policies are important in ensuring that species continue to survive and the humans do not engage in destructive practices. Some of the species of animals mentioned in the book are rare and conservation programs should plan and implement measures aimed at conserving these animals (Haas 102). Third is preventing any activity that may pollute the air, the waters and soil. The ecosystem is disrupted by very little changes in the environment. The little greenhouse emissions are causing the depletion of the ozone layer and resulting in changes in climatic conditions. The polluted water is not fit for marine plants and animals. The polluted air is not good for the plants and the birds either. Preventing these activities is mainly carried out through education initiative aimed at educating people on the importance of conserving the environment and what advantages the environment brings (Haas 110). Preventive measure may also involve setting up laws and law enforcement agencies that take care of those who pollute the environment. These issues are important in the conservation of ecosystem as very little damage most of the time is the cause of continuous massive destruction of the ecosystem and the environment as we see in the contemporary world. The ozone layer is getting depleted day after day and the greenhouse gases are pilling every day. This is because of the little issues that were taken for granted (Hong 60). In conclusion, environmental conservation begins with each one of us as we have seen from the text. It is an individual who can advocate for change of policy in a particular area. Mark and Delia were inspired by the little things that were done on a farm in Ohio. They were against the bulldozer that destroyed forest for a superhighway. Together with testimonies from their lecturer they decided to go out and investigate and find ways of conserving the ecosystem. Many ecological issues are present at the moment including pollution, global warming and climate change and all these affect the environment. It is only through measures based on research, policy issues and preventive action that the ecology can be saved. Works Cited Gelletly, LeeAnne. Ecological Issues. New York: Mason Crest Publishers, 2007. Print. Goloboy, Jennifer L. and Peter C. Mancall. Industrial revolution: people and perspectives. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, Inc, 2008. Print. Haas, Timothy C. Improving Natural Resource management: Ecological and Political Models. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2010. Print. Harrison, Roy M. Polution: causes, effects and control. London: Royal Society of Chemistry, 2001. Print. Hong, Son-gi. Ecological isses in a changing world: status, responses and strategies. Norwell, MA: Kluwer Educational Publishers, 2004. Print. Kumar, Pushpam. The economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity: ecological and economic foundations. Washington, DC: Earthscan, 2010. Print. Maslin, Mark. Global Warming: Causes Effects and The future. St. Paul, MN: MBI Publishing Company, 2007. Print. Morris, Neil. The Industrial Revolution. Chicago: Zak Books, 2010. Print. National Geographic. What causes Global Warming. 2010. Web. 4 April 2012. Owens, Mark and Cordelia Dykes Owens. Cry of Kalahari. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1992. Print. Vajpeyi, Dhirendra K., ed. Deforestion, Environment, and Sustainable Development: A Comparative Analysis. West Port, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001. Print. Read More