Blake's theory
- Two major factors causing decreases in the population of giant pandas are low amounts of bamboo and high levels of pollution. As said in Josh's theory, bamboo forests are taken down for roads, villages, farms, etc.
- Since the diet of panda ranges from 95% to 99% bamboo, pandas need a lot of bamboo; they spend most of their time eating. When you get rid of bamboo, not only will pandas die from starvation, they'll start eating other plants that could dramatically change the ecosystem. In order to stop this, it's important to stop destroying bamboo; this has to do with China'a population control, and limiting it so that new land doesn't need to me paved.
- Another problem is the large amount of air pollution coming from eastern china cities; Beijing, Linfen, and Tianying are three of the most polluted cities of the world, all from the factories in eastern China. The air pollution creates unclean air, which is unhealthy for the pandas to breathe in. It can cause breathing problems, and eventually death.
- The reason the U.S. has less pollution is because we have safer, cleaner methods of manufacturing. China uses the cheapest and dirtiest methods, which creates so much pollution. While it's more expensive, it's very necessary to use the cleaner method used in the Unites States.
Josh's Theory
- Over the past 5-7 decades the panda population has decreased in numbers as factories rose on the eastern provinces of china. Along with habitat loss, pandas were hunted for sport and for their fur pelts which made great winter coats. Many efforts have been made by the Chinese government and the people of the world to save the endangered great panda.
- The major cause for the decrease in panda population is due to habitat loss and resource loss. The giant panda mainly eats bamboo for food. Since bamboo has such little nutrients the panda must consume 14 hours a day worth of bamboo in order to gain the required nutrients and calories to maintain their good health. China makes up for more than 7th of the world population and still continues to grow dramatically. In order to maintain civil peace, the government will cut down bamboo jungles to make farms and communities.
- The most efficient way to save the pandas to for china to stop destroying forest. Scattered throughout the provinces in China are very large ghost towns (cities with no one living there).
- The first steps to preventing deforestation are to create large forest reserves that could be protected from farmers and the government. To relieve population pressure in areas bordering the forest, people should be relocated to these ghost cities which are fit to hold hundreds of thousands of people. As population increases and land availability decreases, China should be more conservative with their land.
- To ensure the protection of the panda, it should be classified as livestock. China has strict laws regarding the killing of livestock that is not owned by the livestock killer. Pandas have much resource to offer the world, one being the panda's dung. It is used in Asian cultures for ingredients in tea, paper, and other Asian products.
- With the preservation of the panda's home and the security from poachers the panda could be saved.