With ivory being illegal the US destroyed over five million tons ivory in January.  The black market for ivory has remained steady over the past fifty years and the demand is still high.  With the killing of elephants illegal, people still do it and the elephant population is dwindling lower and lower.  Other countries along with the US are following through with this movement and they are also cracking down on the poachers and the black market merchants.

10 million dollars worth of Ivory was collected from 2009 until 2014. in the US alone.  In other countries where this problem is more centralized the amount is even more.  Ivory is worth about ten-thousand dollars per kilo, giving it the nickname “White Gold.”

People who follow this issue closely say that “demand is fueled by rapid growth in the world's second biggest economy,” which in this case is China (Williams).  Over the course of five years over fifteen thousand elephants were killed. This article related to my biology class I took last year because it deals with animals and their endangerment.

I think that what these countries are trying to do is great because killing these amazing animals just for their tusks is just horrible.

Ivory Elephants. N.d. Photograph. N.p.
<http://www.sitemason.com/files/dWesnK/Ivory%20table%20B.JPG>

• How does the author use language to advance her point of view? Use evidence from the selection to support your answer.

The author uses language to advance their point of view saying, “before feeding them into two crushing machines” which shows that the author supports the destruction of the ivory because it uses harsh language to show it.
US Crushes Its Stockpile of Elephant Ivory." Fox News. FOX News Network, 15 Nov. 2013. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
<http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/11/15/us-crushes-its-stockpile-elephant-ivory/>