Environmental Yoga Final Paper

Brittany Fagg
Health 1240
April 20,2015
Loss of Biodiversity

One of the many resources we depend on is Biological Diversity, it is

crucial to everyone and everything that lives on this wonderful planet. Every
organism is interconnected into a web thats an ecosystem. Plants, Animals,
Land, Water, Air and Human beings make up this wonderful very diversified
system. So if there is a threat to the environment and the diversity, all living
things are in trouble. We use about 25% more resources that come from the
earth than the planet can keep up with. If we keep this up the biodiversity
will be gone, right now there is significant evidence of reduced biodiversity.
Reduced Biodiversity is something to not take lightly, millions of people face
a huge dilemma where in the present time and futurethe food that we
make to eat are more susceptible to disease and bugs, our fresh water would
be gone.
The evidence is right here in our backyard, the causes of this huge
problem are us, as human beings. As we come in and use more species,
other amazing organisms go away and become extinct. We are at an
increasing fast rate messing the environment, changing it through species
extinction, modifying the territory and exploiting the species with for

example hunting and fishing, changing the biochemical make up and

transferring species. There have been research on fossils that have told the
hard truth of the extinction of species. That Its growing rapidly at an
alarming rate, the over consumption of what humans do play a big role in the
diversity of fish and wildlife. In the 20th century the rate is a 1,000 times
higher than the average rate during the 65 million years. In part the whole
process of slowly becoming extinct is not what we are dealing with here, we
are dealing with the fact that extinction is rising through human interaction.
The world ecological system has been kept in balance through complex
multifaceted interaction between a huge number of species. Huge numbers
leaving means that there will be agricultural problems, as we are seeing right
now with problems with pests, etc.
Climate Change and Global Warming can definitely have an effect on
the whole process as a whole, as all of the species of animals and plants
cant adapt to the strict environments that lead to that. There are some
threats and factors that are concerning, some of them are altercation and
loss of the habitats, introduction of exotic species and GMOs, Pollution, over
exploiting like fishing we start grabbing to many and do not leave enough
to have them reproduce.
One of the many culprits is industrialized fishing, a lot of it is because
of doing very bad job with limiting the fishing. 90% of all fishes, especially
large fishes have vanished from the oceans in the past 10 years. The tuna,

swordfish, sharks have a grim prognosis of ever replenishing. Without fish we

would not have a marine environment with different varieties of fish. Now to
even make things worse, the homes that the fish live and thrive on are being
destroyed. Coral reefs are home to amazing and wonderfully very diverse
species of fish, they are being destroyed by environmental and climate
factors. The warming of the oceans and the damage done by diseased reefs
from polluted trashed waters.
There are way more issues involving fish and their environment
thats linked to humans and what we are doing to them. One of the many sad
stories that I discovered was of a whale hunt in Iceland, one of their new
traditions is for young adults to start killing innocent whales. They first come
to the shores to breed and carry on their offspring and eat and refuel. While
they naturally have nowhere else to go they have to come to the trap that is
in their midst. The whales are then trapped when the tide gets to low and
then the young adults woman and men go and cut them up with spears.
While the blood runs through the water, it stains a perfect red. We should not
have to treat a beautiful and pure mammal of the sea like that, they deserve
more respect from us.
One of the many disturbances is the dilemma of freshwater
ecosystems and how they are continuing to degrade. When we pollute the
very source that is valuable for not only other living thing to survive but for
our very own needs, its very sad. A lot of it is when an agricultural field is

being sprayed by either pesticide or a herbicide and then it contaminates

the diverse ecosystem. There are protected wetlands out there but they can
only do so much, when a wetland cant regain fast enough, there is little
hope that it will recover.
Other issues that I wanted to talk about was deforestation, we cut
down trees and then hurt the environment further by taking the literal source
of strength that the earth has left. There are so many species that live up on
the canopies and when you take the trees down where do they go ? This
sums it all up, a 20 year study has shown that deforestation and
introduction of non-native species has led to about 12.5% of the worlds
plant species to become critically rare.
So there was a very inspiring moment in the class this semester that
has struck me pretty deep. It goes in with the topic that I chose on here
about diversity and how important it is. When we went outside and picked up
some pieces of trash around campus, I was shocked of how much there was.
But I felt like I was doing something right when I did it. We each got to pick a
twig from a tree, a leafanything that would remind us of nature. So I picked
my favorite variegated leaf and brought it to my mat. Right when I put it
there I felt the most connected feeling, it was more of an out of body
experience. I was in the room but I was outside it was like the walls faded
and I was literally outside. I was bringing nature into the room where I was
going to help myself become one with that little leaf. My practice that I have

been doing throughout this semester has helped me to see how I can use my
good qualities and strength within myself to better the environment as a
whole. When I place my feet on the mat against the wood floor, I am
becoming instantly connected with the groundmore at ease with who I am
on the outside and inside. I have been able to open up with this yoga class
and really connect with my inner self, it seems like my life at first was not
really exciting, but then I found out that it actually was. My life is what I
make it to be, with everything that I learned in this class its wherever I go
and whatever I am doing on this wonderful earthI am actually doing yoga. I
leave that world of stress and anxiety as I take off my shoes and come to my
mat, ready to become what I see as my grounded Chakra tree. Firm and not
moving, strong like a rock but always soft. I am stronger on the inside and
yet my compassion softens me every day to become a little bit better with
someone that day and to help out with ways that I can save this planet. I
came into this class, wanting to prove myself to the world that I can do
something, prove to my dad that I can be what he wants me to be and make
him happy. But in the end I came to realize what Bob said in the class, and
now I am forever changed. Its very simpleits the journey not the
destination, its the journey not the destination that defines me, I am who I
am and I am Brittany, a great horticulturist, who loves plants and nature and
who is very passionate about what she does. I love being outside, getting a
little dirt in my hands, I love the world of plants. My realization when I went
to the mat and grounded myself was that I was grounding myself to the

earth, and that I have always been connected to nature. Its not going to
make a lot of money, money does not make you successful, thats a
temporal thing, what matters is the simple things in life , the cool water that
is running down the stream in a canyon, the bee that keeps coming back for
the pollen, the baby falcon that is crying out to his mother to come back to
feed him. For me nature is who I am and the passion and drive for what I do
is way more successful than what anyone could think about a successful life.
So when I have thoughts like that of no worth, I remember that I need to
calm the mind and eventually especially with practicing yoga and the
posesI will do it without the concerned crap I get about the result.
There are small decisions that you can make when it comes to helping
the diversity of our planet. Dont buy animals or plants that are rare or shells
from the sea, feathers, teeth from mammals. Avoid killing with no reasonyou have to have a reason to huntdo it with respect of that you are going
to actually hunt for food and not for prizes. Dont mess with the environment,
recycle. Dont use too much energyit produces the carbon dioxide and
makes more trouble with climate change. Move, go walk or bike and use
public transport. Dont feed the raccoon that you see or the buffalo at
Yellowstone, they dont need it. Last but not least talk to everyone you know
about the effects and real life problems that come up from diversity loss.
Everywhere you go, whether it be Glacier National park or just outside in
your backyard, you are guests, have respect for all life forms. This was an
awesome class, I loved being able to continue my practice of yoga and keep

learning from the journey life takes me with this wonderful way of life that I
will always have with me.
Cited sources: www.wwf.panda.org,www.eniscoula.net, www.nature.org,
www.globalissues.org, Bob Hoffa, and me