Stewards? No.

It is clear that humans have the greatest power on Earth among any other organism. Therefore, we should be stewards to our planet Earth. Unfortunately, a large amount of the human population does not care enough about the planet in order to do something about the decreasing biodiversity. I agree that humans can greatly change an environment as well as impact the surrounding living organisms. Planet Earth has changed in so many natural ways already within a time span of over 3.5 billion years due to natural forces and behaviour which include changes in the planet`s crust, ice ages, fire and interaction among species.

The environment is currently continuing to alter increasingly because of human activities. Human activities which have and will continue to change the earth include agriculture, urbanization and various commercial activities which affect Earth`s land surface. Also, one quarter of all bird species have become extinct and the majority of accessible surface water as well as a great amount of groundwater have been taken over and used for humans. It is horrible to think of, but an estimated 25% of all species could go extinct in just one decade, while animal and plant populations are currently declining in numbers as well as geographical spread. Humans may benefit from the uses for all of these activities, however, many ecosystems on Earth are suffering greatly because of these actions. Although species extinction on Earth may be natural, human activity still manages to increase the extinction rate by at least 100 times the natural rate. Therefore, humans indeed are stewards to the world, but are not making strong enough attempts to solve worldwide biodiversity problems.

More human activity related factors negatively affecting biodiversity are acidification of terrestrial and aquatic habitats, pollution including fossil fuels and coal mining, global warming, responses to natural disaster, desertification, manipulation of genetics in plants and animals, and much more.

At least 40 per cent of the world’s economy and 80 per cent of the needs of the poor are derived from biological resources. In addition, the richer the diversity of life, the greater the opportunity for medical discoveries, economic development, and adaptive responses to such new challenges as climate change.

— The Convention about Life on Earth, Convention on Biodiversity web site.

The common insects, bees are crucial agricultural workers. One third of our fruits and vegetables would not exist without bees and other insects pollinating flowers. The primary species for fertilizing plants are the honeybees. However they have recently suffered dramatic declines mostly due to human actions. There are 130, 000 plants which bees have to pollinate. The job of the bees is more important than poultry when it comes to nutrition. Since the bees are essential for pollinated a great mass of plants, animals suffer as well. When the bee population declines and becomes unable to fertilize plants, plant-eating animals lose a number of plants to feed on affecting the rest of the organisms in the food chain like the carnivores, herbivores, etc.

Another recurring incident in our world takes place in the marine ecosystem concerning whales. Fishermen had campaigned for killing whales which threatened the fishing industry due to the fish supply. When the local whales population was reduced, the killer whales which normally preyed on these mammals went after other animals like the seal. As these numbers declined, otters and then urchins did as well. Eventually the killer whales went on to the kelp forests, the place where fish larvae grew. The fishermen were off at an even worse state than they were in the first place.

Humans are not very good stewards of the world- though they are given the power and the highest capability to be stewards. If fact, humans are so bad at being in charge of the world and its environment that biodiversity is continuously decreasing, putting all organisms eventually at risk.

SOURCES:

Biodiversity in a Changing World

http://74.125.113.132/search?q=cache:fPWCjC49NRIJ:www.nycswcd.net/files/2009%2520Current%2520Issue%2520write-up.doc+human+intervention+affecting+biodiversity+of+our+ecosystems&cd=10&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca

Scientific Facts of Biodiversity

http://www.greenfacts.org/en/biodiversity/#6

Why is Biodiversity Important? Who Cares?

http://www.globalissues.org/article/170/why-is-biodiversity-important-who-cares