Marie A. Claudio 801-11-1275 Workshop: Simple steps to good exam essays By: William Leffingwell, Ph.D.

Essay: 1. The importance of wetlands You surely get a gruesome imagery when you think about wetlands, stinky swamps full of mosquitoes and other nightmares are the first to come to mind. But are they really that bad? Environmentalists on the other hand, see in swamps an important ecosystem that affects everyone in many ways. Many people assure that they are only a nursery for pests and that they should be eradicated. In truth, even if some of the animals that grow and reproduce in these ecosystems are considered pests, the swamps or wetlands are of vital importance because they provide house to many primary producers, and they also avoid floods by delaying the dispersion of water. Many pests do come from wetlands or swamps. They carry dangerous diseases for humans that have a severe effect on the wellbeing of a society. We should always strive for whats best for a community in order to achieve a healthy society. With the ever advancing technology, vaccines are more accessible, and pharmaceutics are being synthesized in order to fight or prevent many of the diseases that threaten humans. But we cannot only base our argument against wetlands with the statement that animals that we consider pests and that may carry disease come from them. It wouldnt be fair to destroy the natural habitat of hundreds of species of plants and animals because some of those animals are pests in our eyes. Not to mention the ecological effect it would have to remove this ecosystem. Wetlands are natural filters and. When it rains, these ecosystems store water and clean it using the vegetation as filter, extracting sediments from the water. When water is scarce in other nearby aquifers and sources of drinkable water, this water refills such aquifers. They also filter harmful sediments which would otherwise damage more delicate ecosystems. This filtering character of wetlands is beneficial for all forms of life. Wetlands also have other characteristics that are beneficial to all ecosystems and forms of life. These wonderful wetlands prevent erosion thanks to the many roots of the plants that inhabit there and by preventing floods. When it rains, wetlands trap water and therefore avoid its rapid propagation, which would result in floods that would cause a lot of damage. This large vegetation and source of nutrients make wetlands the perfect shelter for younglings of many species of marine and terrestrial animals. These younglings then move to more harsh environments, when they are more capable. This is wonderful and very convenient: we have a natural shelter for younglings and a filter for water and a natural anti-flood system all in one place. When we consider all these amazing features, the possibility of getting a disease, although still a major problem is a minimal risk (compared to all the advantages) that we must deal with instead of eradicating the source. At first glance they may seem like they have nothing good to offer but a bunch of stinky water and pests, wetlands are important ecosystems that need to be preserved. They are natural habitats to many species and act as shelter for a lot more. They also act as filters and prevent erosion and floods, all of which results beneficial to us. The health problem is an issue that needs to be solved but we cannot forget the importance of the wetlands and the benefits they offer.