News Review: Ivory Crushing, Glamour Gushing, and Extinction Fussing

Hello everyone! Remember me? I know it's been a while since my last post, and I do apologize- my life has been pretty hectic lately! I intend to get back in the swing of posting more regularly, so keep checking back for more! Today, I'd like to show you a few news articles that have caught my eye. (The links to the articles are underneath my little blurbs.)

Sixth Extinction

It's not new news. We've known that lately, humans, whether directly or indirectly, have been destroying the biodiversity of our planet by pushing many species to extinction. Some may argue that extinction is a natural process, and while that is true, the problem here is the rate at which extinction is occurring- that is, much much faster than natural. Amidst all the Caitlyn Jenner hype and other soap-opera-style stories that somehow make headlines, I am happy to see real problems like this are getting more attention. Of course, it has to be titled "...It could kill us" in order for anyone to pay any mind, but if that's what it takes so be it. As much as you can argue it, humans are animals and we are part of this planet's ecosystem. If we continue to destroy everything else, we will destroy ourselves.            Sixth Extinction on NBC News

Glamour
This isn't really news, but here are two of the women featured in Glamour magazine (which is probably the girly-est thing you'll ever see in this blog). Not a very long read, but it's nice to know people are out there trying to make a difference! 
Elizabeth Brajevich  Vanessa Alejandro




Crushing the Ivory Trade
In several previous posts I have talked about the illegal ivory trade. Today, the United States made a very powerful statement about its views on it: in Times Square, New York City, one ton of confiscated ivory, in the form of trinkets and carved tusks, was pulverized. In my opinion, it is fantastic publicity for a global problem, and I hope it is a sign that the US will be more committed to stomping out this horrendous problem.     
 WWF on the Ivory Crush

The illegal ivory trade may seem like a very foreign problem for many of us, but keep in mind that wildlife crime, in any form, affects humans somewhere along the line. Don't dismiss it just because you think elephants safe in zoos are enough. Think about the ecosystem they live in, that will be thrown into chaos in their absence, the humans whose livelihoods depend on that particular ecosystem, and so on and so forth. Just like I said about the first news article on this post, we are not immune to the destruction we are inflicting. And the sooner people realize it, the better. 


Thank you for reading!