The Impact of Biodiversity for Human - Assignment Example

Biodiversity is defined as the variety of life on Earth including the ecosystems and evolutionary processes that sustains these varieties (Sterling, et.al., p.3). A controversial aspect of this definition is whether humans are part of biodiversity. Sterling suggests that biodiversity impacts satisfaction of human’s basic needs (p.2). Because humans are part of an ecosystem, whatever humans do, it impacts the environment. Since the lives of all living things, and all things created by humans are interconnected through this system, it is apparent that the chain of events happening on one aspect of the environment affects another. This indicates that biodiversity and environmental crisis that the world is facing today has an effect on the human population. Also, this indicates that technological advancement, natural sciences and social sciences can go hand in hand in finding solutions for the problems of the world. Since the ecosystem interconnects each living thing, the actions of each member of the ecosystem have a ripple effect that impacts each other even without them knowing about it. Because humans have that superiority complex that there are a lot of things that he is able to do by himself, he does not realize that his actions have an effect in the environment and the environment has an effect on his actions and decisions. It is a fact that humans will not survive without interaction or without any help from the natural environment. Humans get food, shelter, even medicine and clothing from the environment. Without contact with the natural environment, humans will not be able to live properly because there will be no source of food and other basic needs. Even processed foods need materials from the environment like salt and other minerals. This clearly shows that humans are indeed part of biodiversity since there is an interaction between humans and the environment and there are ecological processes that transpire between them. Because human interaction is involved in biodiversity, it can then be taken into account that whatever cultural and linguistic diversity the humans have has been impacted by the changes in the environment. This can be clearly seen in the different lifestyles of the human society. Just take a look at the differences in the clothing style of people in different societies. Those who are located in the cold regions tend to dress thickly than those located in the tropical regions. Even within the society, there are differences that can be taken into account on the environment that they are living in. In the older times, those who are living in the mountains have hunting as their source of food while those living on the valleys have farming as their source of food. The natural environment offers limited resources. When the natural resources have been depleted already, humans migrate to another land. With this, they encounter other cultures and assimilate their culture with their own, either adapting to it or completely merging their own values and norms with it. This is another evidence of how the environment impacts cultural diversity. With this, it can be presumed that biodiversity in fact affects cultural diversity since human life is interconnected with whatever is happening around him. In order to pursue continuity and development of both the human society and the natural environment, conservation is important. Though this might be skewed to a certain degree because of the value placed on what is to be conserved based on one’s own belief, it is still a must for the maintenance of the variety of the life on Earth. There are two categories of value for biodiversity, utilitarian or extrinsic and intrinsic or inherent. Utilitarian value is determined by its practical use and application like goods, services, information, spiritual, cultural, aesthetic and recreational while inherent value is the inherent worth of an organism, or a right to life (Sterling, et.al. p.6). The utilitarian and inherent values in biodiversity can also be used in cultural aspects by which it defines its importance to human life. Language is one example of one cultural aspect that has utilitarian value and inherent value. Communication is very important in a culture. It is the mode of transfer of knowledge and thoughts from one person to another. It is also a method used to understand the importance of one another. But in communication, there is also a power play at hand that is important to consider when learning how a certain communication system is created, developed and used. Delpit discusses five aspects of the culture of power within the communication system. These are: issues of power enacted in a classroom, codes or rules in participating in power proving that there is a culture of power, the rules of the culture of power that reflects the rules of culture of those who have power, being told of the rules of power makes acquiring power easier and those with power are least aware and willing to acknowledge of its existence while those without it are more aware of its existence (p.568). This is especially visible with cross-cultural interaction as well as interactions between students and teachers in the classroom. Delpit presents different scenarios of oral authority and how it affects transfer of knowledge. Delpit shows that both student and teacher is a master of his own right and can learn from each other (p.576). Establishing power within the classroom does not mean establishing who is supposed to be in charge of everything but this is establishing that the teacher is a source of knowledge where the students can freely scoop up what is needed for them to learn. With this kind of patterned interaction in the classroom, it can be seen that patterns of biodiversity can be applied to explain these interaction. Interaction between the environment and humans are important to establish authority and use of each other’s resources. Same as with language diversity wherein, those in authority, like in the classroom, becomes the means for transference of knowledge and use that the entire society will eventually benefit from. Linguistic diversity, then, establishes that it is important to look into the systems and structures of communication to gauge the impact of language in understanding and promoting language and cooperation. Even if there are different ways of communication, even if there are different languages, the interconnection of each is important in promoting knowledge throughout the cultures. With this, it can be seen that language has an inherent value by which it is important in itself, a way of communication within the society and to be able to understand, assimilate and develop different perspectives for the improvement of the society. Linguistic and cultural diversity can be assessed in terms of its value to the society and towards other culture. Biodiversity emphasizes the need for diversity in order to increase stability and resilience within the ecosystem (Streling, p.10). This can also be applied in linguistic and cultural diversity. Without diversity, there will only be one source of language and culture in the world. This cannot be possible since the environment of each cultural group cannot always be applicable for a certain way of living. That is the reason for diversity. Because of the many groups that haven’t been in contact with one another, diversity exists. And because of this diversity each culture learns from each other through contact with each other. How can cultures and language gain stability and resilience similar to biodiversity? The organisms in the environment are able to support one another because of the different roles it play in the environment. For example, the plants are the animals and humans source of food. The humans and animals, in turn, are the source of carbon dioxide the plants need in order to continue producing. The same way in all cultures, there is a role set to play by each culture. One nation is the source of raw materials, like most of the Asian countries and there are nations that serve as the creators of technologies that are sold and traded worldwide. With this, each nation becomes stable and resilient to downfall. The strength of one culture and language depends on how it adapts itself to the changing world. Having diverse cultural groups and language groups enables more understanding and knowledge about the different ways culture thrives and develops. Kynard emphasizes that existing and repressive conditions of the social order are replicated but because language and education becomes important to provide a space for questioning, and eventually, improving and developing social reality (p.35, p.42). With this, the society enables itself to propagate development and improvement in order to be stable and resilient with other more dominating cultures, like the White culture. Language connects oneself to a culture and culture connects oneself to one’s identity (Baldwin, p.611). It can be seen through this thought that language and culture are the diverse concepts and systems, similar to the diverse species in the ecosystem, which defines one’s identity and purpose in life. With this, biodiversity serves as a model for the intricate interconnection, not only of humans and his environment, but also of culture and other cultures of the world. Biodiversity impacts human life as it creates interconnection between humans and his environment. But diversity does not only lie in this interconnection but also the interconnection between humans, through cultural and language groups. With this, diversity becomes very important because it is a means of developing one’s culture and others. Works Cited Baldwin, J. James Baldwin on Black English. Kynard, C. New life in this dormant creature: notes on social consciousness, language and learning in a college classroom. Alternative discourses and the academy. CA: Boynton/Cook-Heinemann, 2002. Sterling, E. et.al. Why should you care about biodiversity. Center for Biodiversity and Conservation American Museum of Natural History, 2003. Read More