Environmental Effects on Species Habitats in the Southern California Mountains Southern California is not for everybody. "Some people view the climate and laid-back lifestyle with longing. Others perceive the area, and its inhabitants, as a little too far over the edge" (Hutchings 2001:4D-Z). While the region may not appeal to all types of humans, it does attract a wide range of species who make their home in the mountainous areas

Tropical Rainforest Depletion Tropical rainforests are arguably the most precious natural resource on our Earth and constitute the world's most diverse biological eco-system. They are the home to 70% of the world's plants and animals, containing more than 13 million species (Roper, 1999-"Importance of ... "); provide high quality wood for a number of every-day and industrial uses such as for furniture, shipbuilding, and paper; are a repository of almost one-fourth

Certain traits must be present for any attempt at a shift in use of resources to work. First, the new use must hold the potential for greater income than what the people were doing. There must be some incentive for them to learn new skills First, such attempts must promise better returns than the alternative practice and second, they need to be evaluated for how they fit into the set of

The women sustainably harvest items from the forest, and how produce essential oils, lotions, and soaps from the ingredients they harvest. Because they only harvest ingredients instead of using the entire plant, the forest lives on, while they still are earning an income from the sales of their products. Many experts have ideas about how to improve on sustainable development in the region. Another expert says, "For instance, improving the

Often, when rainforests are clear-cut, the land is used for cattle grazing. The cattle are then sold to developed countries for meat consumption since most individuals in developing countries cannot afford to buy meat. In both scenarios, it is the developed countries that create the consumer demands that cause rainforest destruction. The rainforests are very important to the world for a variety of reasons (Kristula, 1997). One major reason is

From the point-of-view of the variation and flexibility of the species such cultivated woody crops rank as no more than cornfields. While the tree farms are conveniently be stretched on the private lands, national forests those are considered priceless reservoirs of most of the biological diversity of the nation cannot expand so easily. The commercial logging is considered as the greatest danger for survival of the national forest system.