3. Using the answer line provided, complete each item below with the correct word from the box. Use each word once.

Demise, somber, havoc, doom, portend, extinct, impending, annihilation, accelerating, advent, derive, schizophrenic

Somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000 years ago, man's first clash with nature may have begun. Historians and philosophers agree that since the …………. of agriculture, human beings have had an effect on the natural habitat of many plant and animal species. As human populations have increased, so has the ………… of other living things: As many as 6,000 species are disappearing each year from deforestation, a number 10,000 times greater than before man appeared on the planet. In one day alone, say scientists, some 45 kinds of plants and animals will die. One year alone brings ……………. of some 17,500 species.

In 1977, the United States Congress took an important step to help the ever-increasing number of endangered species; it passed a law known as the Endangered Species Act. Through this law, the government officially recog­nizes the right of all species to share life on the planet. The law mandates pro­tection for "endangered species," those that may become……………., and "threat­ened species," those likely to become endangered in the near future. The act has already helped to save the grey wolf, the bald eagle, and the alligator from extinction. At the same time, the act has been powerful in altering or stopping many plans for land construction and development. For example, a highway-widening project in Illinois was rerouted in order to protect a rare plant, the prairie bush clover. The construction of a dam was stopped in Tennessee to protect a tiny endangered snail.

With the enforcement of the Endangered Species Act, some species have gained more public recognition than others. Pressure groups have pushed to protect those endangered animals that people love and adore. Elephants, whooping cranes, whales, and the spotted owl, for example, have received far more media attention than have the smaller, less known, and less attractive species that are also endangered. Of the 676 native American species that are threatened, only 24 or so have received attention; yet, it is the tiny species, such as bugs and bacteria, that keep the planet in balance, preventing the possibility of………... Scientists are becoming ever more concerned with the fact that without equal concern for these species, the planet’s biological diversity will be destroyed, leaving us with a loss of potential new foods and drugs. Their forecast for the future of this planet is a ………….one.

On the other hand, some scientists argue that the extinction issue is being exaggerated, and that people are "crying wolf” by describing the loss of species as more alarming than it really is. They ……….. their arguments from history, which proves that every species will eventu­ally become extinct. They argue that conservationist-scientists may be over­selling their case by creating fears of………... Evolution of species, they say, nat­urally involves the extinction of species; man has no control.

In addition, many people point to the fact that the world is already lacking in resources, food, and adequate health care. Concerned more with economic survival, they ask whether it is, in fact, realistic to make a fuss over saving the elephant or other species that may become extinct many years from now, when people have families to feed tomorrow. They say that saving endangered species ………….. somewhat …………….. attitude to the problem as it interferes with or contradicts human goals. These people question a law that puts the continuance of lower forms of life above man’s own survival.

While the debate continues over how much effort should be made to save species from extinction, the addition of more species on the endangered species list at ever-…………. speed is…………., and many loggers, real estate developers, ranchers, and shrimpers find decreasing opportunities to make a living.