In regards to “A Four-Century Retrospective of Marine Fauna and Fisheries Around New York City” to me this extensive article really brings back memories about learning of the greediness of humans. Sturgeons and another orange fish who’s name I can’t remember, these are both fish that were once wildly populous and thus were taken for granted, caught in ocean trawling and drag netting, these fish were considered to be so common that hundreds of thousands were caught and killed without remorse, it was not until much later did people realize that both species of fish had relatively long life spans, low spawn rates, and slow maturation rates. The species especially the latter one where decimated and to this day, the rippling effects of the brashness of human decision has impacted species countless times over. To see that how the marine wildlife around the NYC area has changed and stayed the same is yet another reminder while also showing that it is not yet too late, some actions and decisions have forever changed the local ecosystem, but all is not lost.
In regards to “Who are the indigenous Ainu people of Japan?”, this article gives a basic explanation of the Ainu people are their struggle, I think this article makes me remember some of the darker parts of Japanese society, beyond their technological innovations, pop culture contributions, there are still many issues hiding in the dark. Xenophobia, racism (many individuals did not like that a previous miss Japan was half black and half Japanese and she herself stated that she was often bullied for her skin color in her youth), compensated dating, child pornography, and even supposed attempts to erase their wrongdoings in wars and murders past, the story of the Ainu is a yet another darker piece to a civilized society’s story and one that is more easily relatable as the Native Americans within the United States received, and continue to recent negatively biased treatment with many of them, and the Ainu in Japan, living in comparative squalor, the richness and legacy of their culture slowly wasting away in the face of restrictive and often two-faced administration.
Finally, in regards to the Wildlife Conservation Society article, I think the wide variety of things that the WCS is pretty clearly detailed in the article and through numerous statistics and analytics it’s pretty clear to see their commitment to their cause the positive impact that they have made and will continue to make.