Photo Location: http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_606w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2013/10/15/Production/Daily/Style/Images/Pacific_Walrus-0ed04.jpg
Like most people of our era, I assume that you’re aware of
the impact global warming is having on earth’s environment. Industrial factories, airplanes, and even
individual cars are causing the climate to heat up. This heat is causing large masses of ice to
disappear, destroying the homelands of many Arctic animals and forcing them to
find new land. The article reports the
effect this situation has had on the walrus population, forcing them to move to
dry land habitats, and the damage this move has caused to them. The article “10,000 walruses come ashore in
Alaska,” written by Associated Press, can be found on washingtonpost.com under
lifestyle, in the category kidspost, listed as “Huge walrus herd comes ashore
in Alaska.”
Scientists estimated that this year, over
10,000 walruses were unable to find sea ice over shallow Arctic Ocean water,
which is necessary for birth and feeding.
They’ve been forced to come ashore on Alaska’s northwest coast, leaving
them vulnerable to airplanes, hunters, and stampedes triggered from
predators. As stated in the article, “over
130 walrus carcasses, most of them very young, were counted after such a
stampede in 2009.” Environmental groups
claim that the reason behind the loss of sea ice is climate warming.
The death of 130 walruses in one day is not something that
we should take lightly, especially because more and more walruses are coming to
shore, only adding to the problem. I believe
that the deaths of these arctic species should not be ignored. The depletion of habitats oftentimes leads to
extinction, and the loss of the walrus will impact the entire arctic food
chain. Though it may not seem like a big
deal, the disappearance of one species can have tragic side effects, as we
learned in our most recent unit.
The walruses also face other, more threatening
problems. Many of the Alaskan coasts
they’re settling on will be in danger of pollution from oil and gas development
in Alaska, which is a major source of money to the state’s economy. Using green energy as a profitable industry
throughout the country can provide an alternate eco-friendly source of money.
The only way for us to save the walrus and its fellow arctic
species is to cut down on our overall emission of gas and chemicals. We can do
this by using eco-friendly cars, voting against the construction of industrial
factories, and opting out of air travel whenever possible.
Although Walruses are certainly not the cutest or most
elegant species, we shouldn’t pay any less attention to them than other species.
Walruses are not currently listed as an endangered species, and my hope is that
they’ll be able to hang on until we’ve made enough of an an impact to slow and stop global
warming. If situations like this continue to be ignored, the future isn’t looking
too bright for our arctic friends.
Hey Jessica, great job making the summary of the article you read interesting and fun to read. I love walruses, and was quite offended when you said "Walruses are certainly not the cutest or most elegant species". I heard about the walruses migrating to America a few weeks ago. It's scary to think that these animals are going to die off soon. But I loved your first paragraph, and how you started the essay. I found your first sentence to be really intriguing and it made me want to keep reading. Every sentence in your essay was filled with either an opinion or a fact, there was no filler. In your 4th paragraph, you said "The walruses also face other, more threatening problems. Many of the Alaskan coasts they’re settling on will be in danger of pollution from oil and gas development in Alaska." To me, that says, we caused the walruses to migrate from the habitat that used to be there, to ours, and now we are going to continue what we are doing and pollute the world even more. I get so frustrated with the way these companies think, they rather make money now while they can, then be dead in 15-20 years. People need to start thinking for their children, and their children's children, because by then, there won't be that much of earth left. I liked your last sentence, but if it was me, I would have changed it to "the future isn't looking too bright for anyone or anything because of the way we treat it." But over all, you did a great job writing this essay and making it interesting and fun to read.
ReplyDeleteJessica, you did a really great job constructing your article! When I saw the title I immediately started reading. You had a good point when you said that the decrease of walruses is not something that we should take lightly. We wouldn’t want another species to go extinct. It’s hard to believe that there is so much pollution in the air just from vehicles like airplanes and cars that it is starting to affect not only people, but all the animals too. I think you did a good job integrating quotes from the article and giving necessary information to lure the reader in. Overall, you did a really good job and I would definitely want to read the actual article to find out more about this situation.
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