Over the summer I saw a report on World News Tonight about the newest addtion to the endangered species list. The American Pika was added to the endangered species list in July of 2007 because of Global Warming. (http://www.worldwildlife.org/pikas/index.cfm?sc=AWE0700ACG00&searchen=google)
This adorable little creature lives in the moutains of Mid-West America and has a very specific alititude it lives at because of the temperature and amount of oxygen in the air. Because of rising temperatures all over the world due to things such as an increse of CO2 in the air, these Pika are being forced further up the mountain to find the temperature that they are able to live in. However, once they do find a comfortable temperature to live at, they are so far up the mountain, that there isn't enough oxygen for them to breathe, and so they are suffocating and dying. Those who stay lower on the mountain are dying from the sever heat because of the thickness of their fur.
It could be argued that endangerment and eventual extinction is a natural process through which mother nature makes room for new species. However, species are depleting at an alarming rate and new species are not replacing them fast enough. Also, the endangerment of the American Pika can be directly related to humans and things we, as a species have done to the environment. A change has to be made because the Pika are one example of something we've been turning a blind eye to.
Can we really stand by while these adorable fluffy creatures die?
Katherine Whitman
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