Ecology and Ecosystems - Thought Response

Prompt 1: After doing my assignment that week, I was reminded of the Endangered Species Act of 1973. There is also the clean water act. It is not only for us to have clean water but to protect the species in local rivers in a highly populated city. I wrote several essays about the impact of this policy and the local river I live by. I do not have any field experience with biodiversity practices and procedures, and I have studied them and been aware of them in my local news and school. Being aware of these policies does affect your daily decisions. You may be more motivated to recycle your trash, ride a bike or walk instead of driving if possible, and maybe even purchase an electric car. Awareness of these policies may even stop others from throwing trash onto highways or leaving trash on the beaches or rivers. I hope this will affect my career in understanding the history of our awareness of biodiversity and helping society to learn the balance of nature and still have a prosperous community that thrives without depleting our planet and endangering keystone species.

Prompt 2: Some of the practices and policies that are related to biodiversity that I know of here in the state of California presented under Gov. Gavin Newsom is titled “Pathways to 30x30” (resources.ca.gov). In these strategic efforts in California to protect over 6 million acres of land and an additional half million acres of the coastal waters is defined in ten very organized Pathways: Accelerate Regionally Led Conservation, Execute Strategic Land Acquisitions, Increase Voluntary Conservation Easements, Enhance Conservation of Existing Public Lands and Coastal Waters, Institutionalize Advance Mitigation, Expand and Accelerate Environmental Restoration and Stewardship, Strengthen Coordination Among Governments, Align Investments to Maximize Conservation Benefits, Advance and Promote Complementary Conservation Measures, and Evaluate Conservation Outcomes and Adaptively Manage (Pathways to 30x30, pg. 4,). In this well written memo is the plea to take initiative and come together to conserve the beautiful biodiversity of the California region where scientists, volunteers, land managers, and environmental stewards can have a platform to organize and track progress. It also works as a dialogue and a hub for organizing such efforts to protect the environment. For some time now I have expanded the knowledge I have for biodiversity and how it is important to protect it. I have always understood that our environment is being threatened by our very own lifestyles and choices we have made along the way. It is now clearer than ever my perception and knowledge of maintaining the biodiversity. We must start making changes, small changes and adapt to newer and more sustainable ways in hopes to protect our planet, not just the environment we live. This knowledge will carry through my future career as an environmentalist and will help as a guiding light.