Ebook: Endangered species: a reference handbook

The continuous decline of species creates a decline in biodiversity. This loss of variety in plants, animals, and microorganisms affects human survival in ways the average person cannot imagine. Randall examines the seriousness of the rapid losses of biodiversity, as well as the history and background of efforts to protect imperiled species and the habitats in which they reside. She includes references to current polices of the Endangered Species Act, and the politics that may affect the ESA in future.;Background and history : The sixth mass extinction ; Evolution and biodiversity ; Early conservation action in the United States and the preservation of public lands ; National forests ; National wildlife refuges ; National monuments and the Antiquities Act ; The environmental movement takes off in the 1960s: three decades of environmental legislation ; Why protect endangered species? ; Key provisions of the 1973 Endangered Species Act (ESA) ; The Snail Darter, Tellico Dam, "God Squad," and 1978 ESA Amendment ; The Mission Blue Butterfly and habitat conservation plans (HCPs) ; No surprise and safe harbor agreements ; The role of states in endangered species protection and conservation ; Criminal liability under wildlife laws ; Legal challenges to ESA policy ; Status of the ESA today ; International threatened and endangered species ; International trade in endangered species ; Ecosystem services -- Problems, controversies, and solutions : Roadblocks to action: environmental skepticism in the 21st century ; Global warming, climate change and species extinction: How does global warming endanger species?, Climate change controversy, Climate action ; Species in rapid decline: Fungi in amphibians and bats, Poaching of megafauna, Bleaching of coral reefs, The pollination crisis ; The ESA works ; The ESA is not working ; States' rights and local control of wildlife ; The "taking" of private property ; The good and the bad of HCR ; A more effective endangered species program and act ; Options available to private land owners ; Politics and problems at the FWS ; The gray wolf: the intersection of science, ESA, and politics: Reintroduction of gray wolves, Mexican gray wolves, Lethal and nonlethal control of wolves ; Sage-grouse politics and partnerships: a different approach -- Perspectives : Conservation in a time of rapid climate change / Camille Parmesan ; Endangered Amazon / Tom Lovejoy ; The wolves retuen / Suzanne Asha Stone ; Saving the ancient forests / Brock Evans ; Dams, rivers, fish: a continuing conundrum / Mark Rockwell ; Respecting fellow predators / Dave Stalling ; Unlikely partners / Michael Lehnert ; Macaws amd jaguars: ecotourism: reality or a dream? /Douglas Trent ; Marine extinction / C. Sarah Cohen -- Profiles : People: David Attenborough (1926-), Rachel Carson (1907-1964), Eugenie Clark (1922-2015) and Sylvia Earle (1935- ), Jane Goodall (1934- ), Dian Fossey (1932-1985), and Birute Galdikas (1946- ), Jacques-Yves Cousteau (1910--1997), Jean-Michel Cousteau (1938-), Philippe Cousteau (1940 --1979), Alexandra Cousteau (1976- ), Philippe Cousteau, Jr. (1979- ), Aldo Leopold (1887-1948), John Muir (1838-1914) and David Brower (1912-2000), E.O. Wilson (1929- ) ; Organizations: Center for Biological Diversity, Conservation International, Defenders of Wildlife, Earth Day, Earthjustice, Endangered Species Coalition, Greenpeace, National Audubon Society, Natural Resource Defense Council, National Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club, The Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund -- Data and documents : Data: Increases in global CO2 emissions in the past 55 years, Annual global temperature increases worldwide since 1901 in degrees Fahrenheit, Cumulative change in sea level for the world's oceans since 1880, Results of rhinosceros and elephant poaching in Kruger National Park, South Africa, Cumulative number of inferred extinctions of frogs in (A) Mesoamerica and Brazil, and (B) Madagascar and Sahul Region where highly concentrated in New Guinea, Average number of flood days on U.S. coasts 1950-1959 compared with flood days during 2010-2015, Summary of number of listed endangered and threatened species and recovery plans in the United States under the Endangered Species Act, Dates domestic species were declared extinct, listed as endangered and the delisted as recovered under the 1973 Endangered Species Act in the United States, A sample of highly endangered species in the United States, their approximate distribution, estimated number, and cause of decline, Sample of critically endangered and endangered species globally from IUCN RED List, Endangered Species Act petitions received by the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Ten shrinking areas with the most threatened species, Traits of vulnerable species ; Documents: Excerpt from the Endangered Species Act of 1973, Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill (1978), Testimony on Reintroducing Wolves (1995), Examinng the Endangered Species Act (2014), Executive Order Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth (2017), U.S. Withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord (2017) -- Chronology.