Changing the land: population goes up, more agriculture, more consumption.

Human’s and farm

animals dominate the worlds resources. 96%. We run the world not animals

Forest Clearance: forests are the earths lungs. Temperate forests (mainly found in colder regions) have
disappeared and have replaced by more tropical forests. We use forests for fuel (wood), paper, carbon
storage, and certain medicines. Major source of wildlife

Desertification: process of turning regular land into desert. Causes: cutting down trees, irrigation land
wrong causes salt to settle to the surface. Not mentioned in book, hotter climate contributes to this.
People can no longer live of this land. Dangerous to live too (flash flood) we just heard about
environmental refugees.

Land Rush: foreign investors are buying land in areas like Africa. The problem with this is that the land
could be used for growing food. However, buying land supports the areas economy.

Sea Changes: over fishing may produce a lot of revenue now for a fish business, but in the long run,
everyone suffers since the fish can’t reproduce fast enough and not as many can be caught. Coupled
with acid seas, fish populations (like salmon and tuna) are strained more than ever.

Farming Fish: people consume 7 times more farmed fish than they did 30 years ago. Drugs and herbicide
are often added to protect the fish and make them grow faster. In order to build the farm, wildlife must
be disturbed. Wild caught fish are more susceptible to mercury poisoning.

Acid Seas: oceans absorb a lot of carbon dioxide from the air. While some species of fish do thrive in
more acid water, many are harmed. Choral reefs die and crumble in more acidic environment. They
provide refuge for many types of fish.

Dead seas: certain chemicals like nitrogen and phosphorus can suck oxygen right out of the water.
Sewage and fertilizers are high in these chemicals. Contaminated freshwater flows into oceans from
rivers. This bad water creates a top layer on the oceans because its lighter and warmer. Algee thrive on
the top layer and block sunlight to underwater plants. Dead algee also sucks oxygen from the water.
Creates oxygen deprived seawater. Gulf of Mexico from Mississippi river.

Plastic Pollution: 90% of debris in the ocean is plastic. Plastic is dumped on land and enters through
rivers. Wildlife can mistake little plastic pieces for food and die. Plastic takes long to break down as well.
When ocean currents cross paths, it creates a gyre. These gyres are filled with garbage and plastic.
Largest is the north pacific gyre. Probably because major plastic are in that costal area (china, Vietnam,
Indonesia)

The great decline: its not just animal species that are disappearing, its plants too due to deforestation.
Agriculture is the biggest threat to endangered species. 150-200 species of plants, animals, and insects.
go extinct every 24 hours. We’ve haven’t seen anything like this since the extinction of dinosaurs.

Biodiversity hotspots: places that are naturally diverse but also under pressure from climate change.
Areas include Caribbean islands, Atlantic forest, and south-west austalia. These areas involve forests,
grasslands, swamps, and deserts. More than 70% of vegetation has been lost in our worlds hotspots.

Invasive Species: bringing certain animals to areas where they are not naturally found. Native species
cannot cope with the pressure of a new predator and are often wiped out. Rabbits are an example of
invasive species in Australia. They can reproduce very quickly and eat native food. Rabbits were brought
over by English explorers for food.

Natures Services: nature provides us with many things. Food and medicine are major. Financially,
tourism is a big money maker. It also helps reduce flooding, and captures and stores carbon.

Insect pollination: insects need to pollinate our plants for them to grow. Agriculture disrupts pollinators
like bees. Without pollen, plants can’t grow. Some areas have been forced to pollinate by hand with
little paint brushes. Economic value of pollinators is 190 billion USD

The value of nature: natural resources is one of the main factors of production in an economy. This book
values natures at 124.8 trillion USD. Considered is the value of the medicine, oxygen, food, water,
protection from storms, fires etc. 60% of the value is terrestrial and 40% is marine based. hotter climate
causes fires that not only destroys wildlife but also houses and buildings.