writing proposal #2

Brady Terry

Professor Debra Reece

Writing Proposal

6 October 2014

Writing Proposal

                The article that I read and chose to do my synthesis on is titled, “Calculating the Value of Ecosystem ‘Service’”.  It was written by Tom Arrandale and published in the CQ Researcher on Nov. 30 2007.  This article is addressed to Ecologists and Economists as well as to Biologists and Conservationists.  It talks about some of the adverse effects that come from a loss of biodiversity in several fields, and addresses steps that are being taken to preserve what biodiversity we have left.

                The article begins by talking about the destruction caused by hurricanes and tsunamis around the world and the similar destruction of coastal wetlands before the hurricane’s coming.   It states that the wetlands and coastal mangroves that once protected the affected areas have been destroyed to create living space and shrimp farms.  The article then goes on to talk about how when we destroy these and other areas, we prevent the world from being able to naturally prevent disasters.  It continues by talking about the importance of the different ecosystems and their roles in our well-being.

                The article concludes by talking about some of the different things that are now being done to preserve the diversity of ecosystems and large areas of land around the world.  It covers examples from hydroelectric plants to preserving areas of the rain forest.  It also talks about how we can better use the things that nature has given us such as honey bees for the preservation of ourselves and the world around us.  However, it concludes with a caution saying, “I worry that we’re not going to have enough time.” Thus addressing the concern that we have destroyed earth’s natural resources to a point where we will never be able to repair them to their natural state.

                In my synthesis I would like to compare the ways that the articles address the use of funds and resources to preserve biodiversity.  They both talk about different fields of study in the preservation of biodiversity, but they are interconnected.  I will compare the way that the farmers and biologists are preserving biodiversity from the first article that I read to the way that ecologists and the government funding they receive go to preserving biodiversity in coastal and forested areas.  I will also look at the way natural preservation was looked at in the second article and see if something similar is happening in what was addressed in the first article.

                There isn’t much that contrasts between the articles and I would like to look further into the last sentence of the second article because it is something else that is discussed by both authors: the fear that we have run out of time to really be able to preserve biodiversity as we know it. I think that this will give me something good to work with in synthesis of the two articles.