Overharvesting of marine species and large-scale habitat loss caused by humans are the two primary causes in the decline in a species' population. Unsustainable fishing practices, such as bottom trawling, have damaged millions of miles of sea floor and resulted in such high catch rates that fish populations are unable to reproduce fast enough to replenish their populations. In addition, oil and gas drilling off of our coasts has also led to large-scale habitat degradation in the form of leaks and spills, as well as injury, or even death, to marine mammals during the seismic testing process. Read More
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In 1931 Mikhail Gorbachev—the general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1985–91) whose policies helped end the Cold War—was born.
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