Analysis of Articles - The Earths Sixth Mass Extinction by Barnosky and Can We Defy Natures End by Pimm - Article Example

Precise for two articles Can we defy nature’s end? Pimm, Stuart, et. al. The identify significance of threat to the environment that further threatens some biotic factors. They note that it is possible to save the remaining biodiversity because the most threatened environmental factors are relatively insignificant supporting human life. In some cases, the factors are unfavorable to humanity and this means that focus can be shifted to significant resources for supporting humanity while the threatened elements of the environment receive protection.

Even though initiatives for protecting biodiversity have been poor, it is economically feasible because of the low costs that could be involved. The most vulnerable areas can be acquired and be managed at a cheaper cost compared the involved costs for all reserve regions. This is because of lower prices in the regions and the total cost for the threatened regions is estimated at $ 4 billion as compared to the total $ 30 billion for protection of all reserve areas. Protecting the areas is also feasible because most of the pressure to the threats is external.

This means that change in domestic policies by the affected nations can facilitate protection. Demands by external forces such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund are examples of the forces that enhance irresponsible domestic activities to degradation of biodiversity. The institutions promote depletion of resources. The authors also recommend centralization of conservation research and management centers because of the success that such centrally managed institutions have achieved in developed countries.

An integrated approach of protection and minimization of harm is recommended as a solution in the environment where information on biodiversity and involved threat is available but the society has still failed to protect the environment from degradation. The article therefore offers a concern and immediate need for environmental conservation with hope of success (Pimm, et. al. 2207, 2208). Has the earth’s sixth mass extinction already arrived? Barnosky, Anthony et. al. The authors suggest possible extinction in the contemporary world because of the suspected interference with the environment whose adverse effects to biodiversity can be compared to previously five extinctions over the past 540 million years.

Human activities whose effects include killing of biotic factors and variation of climate and habitats cause this and recovery is likely to take millions of years. Even though historical data, from fossils, and contemporary data are however biased and inaccurate and can misinform positions on extinction, a mass decrease in number of species, 75 percent or more, over a maximum period of 2 million years defines extinction and current rates are reported to be within this range. Current measurements, using E/MSY scale and over a short period, suggest high rate but reliance on short periods for extrapolation may generate unreliable data.

Improved measures however support validity of the scale that has determined as high as 693 lost species in one-year bins. Magnitude of extinction per species also remains a speculation but samples have shown convergence to accuracy. Analysis of rates of species loss also identifies higher comparative rates than those of the past five extinctions and reviewing trends in diversity shows that the current number of species is relatively lower that numbers in previous periods. Factors such as climate change, change in environmental composition and existence of stressors are significant to the extinction problem and more significant on animals with small body size when the affected scope is limited.

Modification to future measures are however necessary (Barnosky, et. al. 51- 57). Works cited Barnosky, Anthony, et. al. “Has the Earth’s sixth mass extinction already arrived?” Nature (2011) 472.7336. Pimm, Stuart, et. al. “Can we defy nature’s end?” Science (2001) 293.2207, 2207-8.