Protecting Ecosystems

Why Should You Attend:

This webinar will teach you how to identify ecosystems that are being threatened by global warming, pollution, and the use of fossil fuels such as coal, oil or natural gas, which generate carbon dioxide which is the primary greenhouse gas. It will encourage us to buy alternative fuel cars instead of those that run on gasoline. At one point you could say that the entire Earth was an ecosystem. As man intruded the world was divided until each region had developed an equilibrium. There is a delicate biological balance in each ecosystem that needs to be handled gently.

When an ecosystem is disturbed, it depletes habitat for birds, fish, and animals, and can impair the quality of human life. It has a negative effect on protected plants, birds, animals, and natural areas. If you discover an ecosystem being harmed, you and your like-minded friends should write to your congressman. They do listen and act so it is very worthwhile to email them or write a paper letter.

Areas Covered in the Webinar:

• This class will describe environmental efforts needed to protect our ecosystems. It will describe protecting our ecology. It will describe how ecosystems shrink as an area is developed. Each time we build a road or shopping center we upset the biological balance and animals and people suffer. The poor and minority communities are more affected because they are less mobile and have less of a collective voice.
• The class will call for education on protecting our ecology for K-12 school students. It will describe the importance of identifying local or statewide ecosystems and determining how they can be enjoyed in a non-destructive manner.
• It will describe the progress made towards using sustainable energy generation practices such as wind energy, solar energy, wind energy, ocean energy and hydropower energy.
• The class will discuss protecting lands that can be used for recreational fishing and hunting.
• When natural lands are developed it can disturb the balance of nature that has been so carefully created.
• We will discuss the ecosystems in Montana which are montane forest, intermountain grasslands, plains grassland, and shrub grassland.
• We will talk about small ecosystems in Massachusetts, some of which are shrinking.
• The class will discuss the two ecosystems in Nevada and how the major cities in Nevada such as Loughlin, Las Vegas, and Reno are their own ecosystems.
• We will describe an ecosystem as a biological interacting organism. Fighting against development will preserve an ecosystem.
• When we destroy an ecosystem we lose clean water, clean air, and recreational opportunities.

Who Will Benefit:

Community activist social workers, environmental permit writers, doctors, attorneys, nurses, sociologists, ecology professors, psychologists, historical preservation architects, environmentalists, naturalists, ecologists, wildlife and fisheries biologists, entomologists, chemists, civil engineers, environmental engineers, local, state, and federal government environmental protection officials, environmental permit writers, public health doctors, nurses, sociologists, K-12 teachers, ecology consultants, environmental consultants, civil rights activists, park rangers, farmers, ranchers, environmental clubs, historians, preservationists, foresters, recreational fisherman, hunters, non-profit environmental organizations, hikers, boaters, bird-watchers, whale watchers, safety officers, beachcombers, restaurant owners, environmental officers, air pollution control technicians, water pollution control technicians, environmental lobbyists, water treatment plant operators, wastewater treatment plant operators, politicians, eco-tourism guides, cultural anthropologists, environmental attorneys, environmental writers, and oceanographers.

Instructor Profile: