how far is man harming the earth essay

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What on Earth?

Gorillas are some of the most endangered animals on the planet. They aren't the only species struggling with the effects of humans on their habitat. Image:  Eric Kilby /Shutterstock.com

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Humans are causing life on Earth to vanish

Ecosystems, the fabric of life on which we all depend, are declining rapidly because of human actions. But there is still time to save them.

Human pressure on nature has soared since the 1970s. We have been using more and more natural resources, and this has come at a cost.

If we lose large portions of the natural world, human quality of life will be severely reduced and the lives of future generations will be threatened unless effective action is taken.

Over the last 50 years, nature's capacity to support us has plummeted. Air and water quality are reducing, soils are depleting, crops are short of pollinators, and coasts are less protected from storms.

Prof Andy Purvis, a Museum research leader,  has spent three years studying human interactions with nature. Alongside experts from more than 50 different countries, he has produced the most comprehensive review ever of the worldwide state of nature, with a summary published in the journal Science .

It was coordinated by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), an independent body that provides policymakers with objective scientific assessments about the state of knowledge regarding the planet’s biodiversity.

The latest report paints a shocking picture. We are changing nature on a global scale and the impacts of our actions are being distributed unequally.

'It was terrifying to see how close we are to playing Russian roulette with the only world we have,' says Andy. 'But it's also been inspiring, because there is a way out of this.

'What has given hope to the many scientists who worked on this report has been the way the public are fully aware of the dangers and want action. We just need to make sure the politicians remember that too.'

A diagram from the report showing the risk of extinction in different groups of species, assuming that species with limited or no data are equally threatened as other species in their taxonomic group.

Nature feeling the squeeze

Since the 1970s, Earth's population has doubled, and consumption has increased by 45% per capita.

The world is increasingly managed in a way that maximises the flow of material from nature, to meet rising human demands for resources like food, energy and timber.

As a result, humans have directly altered at least 70% of Earth's land, mainly for growing plants and keeping animals. These activities necessitate deforestation, the degradation of land, loss of biodiversity and pollution, and they have the biggest impacts on land and freshwater ecosystems.

About 77% of rivers longer than 1,000 kilometres no longer flow freely from source to sea, despite supporting millions of people.

The main cause of ocean change is overfishing, but 66% of the ocean's surface has also been affected by other processes like runoff from agriculture and plastic pollution.

Live coral cover on reefs has nearly halved in the past 150 years and is predicted to disappear completely within the next 80 years. Coral reefs are home to some of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet.  

The number of alien species - species found outside their natural range - has risen, as humans move organisms around the world, which disrupts and often diminishes the richness of local biodiversity. This, combined with human-driven changes in habitat, also threatens many endemic species.

In addition, fewer varieties of plants and animals are being preserved due to standardisations in farming practices, market preferences, large-scale trade and loss of local and indigenous knowledge.

Nature also benefits humans in non-material ways. We learn from it and are inspired by it. It gives us physical and psychological experiences and supports our identity and sense of place. But its capacity to provide these services has also diminished.

What's causing it?

The loss of ecosystems is caused mainly by changes in land and sea use, exploitation, climate change, pollution and the introduction of invasive species.

Some things have a direct impact on nature, like the dumping of waste into the ocean.

Other causes are indirect. Those include demographic, economic, political and institutional arrangements underpinned by social values, and they interact with one another.

For example, vast areas of land managed by Indigenous Peoples are experiencing a decline in ecosystems at a slower rate than everywhere else. But the rights of Indigenous Peoples are being threatened, which could result in faster deterioration of these areas. This would have a detrimental impact on wider ecosystems and societies.

Coral reefs are bleaching at an unprecedented rate

Trading overseas has increased by 900% since the start of the post-industrial era and the extraction of living materials from nature has risen by 200%.

The growing physical distance between supply and demand means people don't see the destruction caused by their consumption.

'Before the Industrial Revolution, people had to look after the environment around them because that's where they got their products from,' says Andy. 'If they didn't look after it, they would face the consequences.

'Now with globalisation, we have massive environmental impacts a long way from where we live. But we are insulated from these impacts, so they are abstract to us.'

Overseas trading also creates and increases inequality. The pressure for material goods comes mostly from middle and high-income countries and is often met by low to middle-income countries.

For example, Japan, US and Europe alone consumed 64% of the world's imports of fish products. High income countries have their own fisheries but most of these have collapsed. Fishing now takes place in previously unexploited or underexploited fisheries, most of which belong to low-income countries.

'With the massive increase in trade, there is no longer that imperative to make sustainable choices,' says Andy. 'We can overexploit natural resources somewhere else in the world and the magnitudes of our choices are invisible to us.'

What does the future hold?

The report analysed in detail how the world will look under three very different scenarios.

• Global sustainability: the whole world shifts towards sustainability by respecting environmental boundaries and making sure economic development includes everyone. Wealth is distributed evenly, resources and energy are used less, and emphasis is on economic growth and human wellbeing.
• Regional competition: there is a rise in nationalism with the focus mostly on domestic issues. There is less investment in education, particularly in the developing world. High-income countries will continue exporting the damage, resulting in some strong and lasting environmental destruction for future generations to deal with.
• Economic optimism: the world puts faith in new and innovative technologies that are still to be invented, which help us cope with environmental problems. Emissions will continue, but with the idea that technology will mitigate them. There will be stronger investment in health and education, and global markets are reasonably integrated with shared goals.

Combating the loss of ecosystems is going to be complex and will require a nexus approach. This means thinking about how different components of the problem such as nature, politics and socioeconomics all interact with one another.

An example of a nexus approach would be to reduce biodiversity loss by changing how we farm, while at the same time making sure people have enough food, their livelihoods are not undermined, and social conflicts are not aggravated.

The way to avoid some of these issues may be to focus on regenerating and restoring high-carbon ecosystems such as forests and wetlands. Similarly the need for food could be met by changing dietary choices and reducing waste.

Switching to clean energy is an important step which would allow other changes to happen more easily. Obtaining coal and gas involves destroying vast amounts of land and seascapes as well as polluting the environment beyond extraction.

But in order to achieve this fully, the world needs to revaluate current political structures and societal norms, which tend not to value nature. One way of doing that is by improving existing environmental policies and regulations, as well as removing and reforming harmful policies.

'I hope people can see that this is not a drill,' says Andy. 'This really is an emergency and I hope they act on it.'

The Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) have decided that the IPBES Global Assessment Report will form the scientific and technical evidence base for the intergovernmental negotiations in 2020, to agree on a global biodiversity framework for the next decade and to replace the Aichi Biodiversity Targets that expire next year.

IPBES Chair Anna Maria Hernandez concludes, 'This new article makes it even more clear that we need profound, system-wide change and that this requires urgent action from policymakers, business, communities and every individual.

'Working in tandem with other knowledge systems, such as Indigenous and local knowledge, science has spoken, and nobody can say that they did not know. There is literally no time to waste.'

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Protecting our planet

We're working towards a future where both people and the planet thrive.

Hear from scientists studying human impact and change in the natural world.

The time is now

• Get the report's highlights in the journal Science .
• Read the Summary for Policymakers of the IPBES Global Assessment on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services .

How are climate change and biodiversity loss linked?

The climate crisis and biodiversity loss are closely connected but the good news is, so are the solutions.

The world is in trouble: one million animals and plants face extinction

Humanity is eroding its own life-support system.

What is the Anthropocene and why does it matter?

We are living in the age of humans.

Wildlife populations have crashed by 69% within less than a lifetime

We know the problems, but we also know how to fix them. 

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Human Impact on Environment Essay

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• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
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Ecological problem is one of the most important issues nowadays. Human activities have a negative impact on the environment. Humanity currently faces problems with air, water, and lands pollution, unreasonable agricultural systems, deforestation, and others. As a result, the number of available natural resources is decreasing. Another negative consequence of human activities is the process of global warming and global climate changes. These changes affect the whole Earth and might result in adverse consequences for people and wild nature (“The Consequences of Climate Change”). Therefore, it is obvious that the situation should be improved.

Probably, everybody asks oneself what he or she personally could do to improve the ecological situation. After all, the main source of pollution is the industry sector. However, we all belong to humanity and make our small impact on the environment. And we all could make the situation slightly better. Our daily habits have both positive and negative long-term consequences for the world we live in. It is important to understand to plan our life and our activities.

As far as my family and I are concerned, we performed several steps to reduce the negative impact on the environment. First of all, we all try to save clean water. We always remember to turn off our taps. We do not keep the water running when we brush teeth or wash something. Saving clean water is very important for the environment. The problem of clean water availability, probably, is one of the most pressing. No living creature can survive without clean water. Fewer sources we use, more of them remain for the future generation.

Another important action we perform to improve the situation with water is avoiding water pollution. Our family refused to use cleaning detergents with phosphates as it is known that these substances are harmful to human health. Moreover, it is difficult to eliminate these compounds from water. Therefore, phosphates in the water get to nature and poison living organisms. Thus, it is better to use detergents without phosphates. It helps to keep the healthy and to reduce water pollution.

Except for water pollution, there are a lot of other problems that need to be solved. One of them is waste deposits. These deposits occupy a large area. Different wastes need different (however, always significant) times to decompose. Besides, while decomposing, a lot of harmful compounds appear. These compounds poison the land and can get to the water. In the last decades, a lot of programs of waste separation appeared. People are asked to separate the waste: to combine plastic with plastic, organic with organic, and paper with paper. Different wastes are treated in different ways, which allows cutting pollution. For example, plastic can be remolded and used again, while it requires hundreds of years for its degradation in nature. Moreover, during this process, a lot of harmful products release (Law and Thompson 144). Thus, it is better to separate plastic material and recycle it. It would be even better not to use plastic at all, and when it is possible, try to use biopolymers instead.

It is important to understand that small steps are better than nothing. If we want to improve the ecological situation, we should start with ourselves, analyze our daily activities, and make improvements where it is possible. Carrying about our environment is our responsibility as citizens. Finally, the small effects of such actions might summarize positive global changes.

Works Cited

“The Consequences of Climate Change.” NASA . 2017, Web.

Law, Kara Lavender, and Richard C. Thompson. “Microplastics in the Seas.” Science, vol. 345, no. 6193, 2014, pp. 144-145.

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IvyPanda. (2021, May 24). Human Impact on Environment. https://ivypanda.com/essays/human-impact-on-environment/

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IvyPanda . 2021. "Human Impact on Environment." May 24, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/human-impact-on-environment/.

1. IvyPanda . "Human Impact on Environment." May 24, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/human-impact-on-environment/.

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Humans Destroying Ecosystems: How to Measure Our Impact on the Environment

You might have heard the claim humans are “destroying” the planet — but how do you actually measure that?

Explainer • Climate • Environment

Words by Seth Millstein

The Earth’s many ecosystems form the foundation for life on this planet, providing us with clean air, drinkable water and fertile soil. But human activities have drastically altered these vital systems, and that damage has accelerated over time. The consequences of ecosystem destruction are far-reaching and dire, and threaten to destabilize the natural environmental processes that we rely on to live.

A United Nations report found that three-quarters of land-based environments, and two-thirds of marine-based environments, have been detrimentally altered by human activities . In order to reduce habitat loss and slow down extinction rates, we need to understand how human activities threaten and endanger the planet’s ecosystems .

What Ecosystems Are

An ecosystem is the interconnected system of plants, animals, microorganisms and environmental elements that occupy a given space. The interactions of all these flora and fauna are what enables the ecosystem to perpetuate; removing or altering a single element can throw the entire system out of whack, and in the long run, threaten its continued existence.

An ecosystem can be as small as a puddle of water or as big as a planet, and many ecosystems contain other ecosystems within them. For instance, ocean surface ecosystems exist within the larger ecosystems of oceans themselves. The Earth’s ecosystem is itself the culmination of countless sub-ecosystems interacting with one another around the world.

How Human Activity Impacts Ecosystems

Many common human activities damage, altar or destroy the Earth’s ecosystems . Agricultural expansion, extraction of natural resources and urbanization are the sort of large-scale initiatives that contribute to ecosystemic destruction, while individual actions like overhunting and the introduction of invasive species can also contribute to an ecosystem’s decline.

These activities, to varying degrees, pollute the air and water, degrade and erode the soil, and cause the death of animals and plants. They also disrupt the natural environmental processes that allow ecosystems to exist, such as the hydrologic cycle . As a result, these ecosystems are degraded and, in some cases, destroyed entirely.

Ecosystem Destruction: Deforestation for Cattle Farming As Case Study

A good illustration of how all this works is deforestation, which is when a forested area is permanently cleared and repurposed for another use. Around 90 percent of deforestation is driven by agricultural expansion ;cattle farms are the most common type of agricultural expansion in deforested areas , so let’s use a cattle farm as our case study.

When the forest is initially cleared, a few things happen. First, the very act of cutting down the trees releases massive amounts of carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere, and erodes the soil from which the trees grew. The absence of trees and canopy also means the death of local animal populations who rely on the forest for food and shelter.

Once the land has been converted into a cattle farm, the destruction continues. The farm will continuously pollute the air, because animal agriculture emits enormous amounts of greenhouse gasses . The farm will also pollute nearby water, as nutrient runoff and animal waste makes its way into nearby waterways.

Finally, because the trees that had previously been trapping and sequestering carbon dioxide from the atmosphere are now gone, air pollution in the region will be worse in the long-term, and that will remain the case even if the farm is shuttered.

How Do We Measure Ecosystem Destruction?

Because ecosystems are extraordinarily complex and varied entities, there’s no single way to assess their health or, conversely, how much damage they’ve sustained. There are several perspectives from which to look at ecosystemic destruction, and they all point to the same conclusion: humans are wreaking havoc on the Earth’s ecosystems.

Land Health

One way to see how humans are damaging ecosystems is to look at the alteration and pollution of our planet’s land and water. Scientists have found that less than three percent of the Earth’s total land is still ecologically intact, meaning that it has the same flora and fauna that it did in pre-industrial times. In 2020, a report from the World Wildlife Foundation found that h umans are overusing the Earth’s biologically productive land , such as cropland, fisheries and forests, by at least 56 percent. At least 75 percent of the Earth’s ice-free land has been significantly altered by human activity as well, that same report found. In the last 10,000 years, humans have destroyed around one-third of all forests on Earth . What makes this especially alarming is that around three-quarters of that destruction, or 1.5 billion hectares of land loss, occurred within the last 300 years alone. According to the United Nations, humanity is currently destroying an average of 10 million hectares of forest every year.

According to a 2020 study published in One Earth, 1.9 million km2 of previously undisturbed terrestrial ecosystems — an area the size of Mexico — were highly modified by human activity between 2000 and 2013 alone. The most heavily impacted ecosystems in this 13-year period were tropical grasslands and forests in Southeast Asia. In totality, the report found, almost 60 percent of Earth’s land ecosystems are under severe or moderate pressure from human activity.

Water Health

The planet’s aquatic ecosystems aren’t faring much better. The EPA uses the concept of “impairment” to measure water pollution; a waterway counts as impaired if it’s too polluted to swim in or drink, the fish in it are unsafe to eat due to pollution, or it’s so polluted that its aquatic life is threatened. A 2022 analysis by the Environmental Integrity Project found that on a per-acre basis, 55 percent of lakes, ponds and reservoirs on the planet are impaired, along with 51 percent of rivers, streams and creeks.

The world’s coral reefs are extremely important ecosystems as well. They’re home to about 25 percent of the ocean’s fish and a wide range of other species — and unfortunately, they’ve been seriously degraded, too.

The U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) found that between 2009 and 2018, the world lost about 11,700 square kilometers of coral , or 14 percent of the global total. More than 30 percent of the world’s reefs have been affected by rising temperatures, and UNEP projects that by 2050, there will be a 70-90 percent worldwide decrease in live coral reefs due to climate change. The report even raised the possibility that coral reefs may become extinct within our lifetimes.

Biodiversity Loss

Finally, we can measure the extent of our ecosystem destruction by looking at biodiversity loss . This refers to the reduction of plant and animal populations, as well as the extinction and near-extinction of species around the world.

The WWF report mentioned earlier found that between 1970 and 2016, populations of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish around the world have declined by an average of 68 percent . In the tropical subregions of South America, they fell by a staggering 94 percent.

The data on extinctions is even grimmer. Every day, an estimated 137 species of plants, animals and insects go extinct due to deforestation alone, and it’s estimated that another three million species that live in the Amazon rainforest are threatened by deforestation. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists 45,321 species around the world that are critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable. According to a 2019 analysis, over one-third of marine mammals are now threatened with extinction .

Even more concerning is the fact that, according to a 2023 Stanford study, entire genuses are now going extinct at a rate 35 times higher than the historical average. This pace of extinction, the authors wrote, represents an “irreversible threat to the persistence of civilization,” and is “destroying the conditions that make human life possible.”

The Bottom Line

The world’s interlocking ecosystems are why life on Earth is possible. Trees sequester carbon dioxide and release oxygen, making the air breathable; soil traps water, providing protection against floods and allowing us to grow food to feed us; forests provide us with life-saving medicinal plants , and help maintain a high level of biodiversity, while clean waterways ensure that we have enough water to drink.

But all of this is precarious. Humans are slowly but surely destroying the ecosystems that we rely on. If we don’t reverse course soon, the damage may eventually make the planet inhospitable to our own species — and many others.

Independent Journalism Needs You

Seth Millstein is a writer and musician living in the Bay Area. He has helped launch several early-stage journalism startups, including Bustle and Timeline, and his work has been published in Bustle, Huffington Post, The Daily Dot and elsewhere.

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11 important ways that humans impact the Earth’s environment

Find out how people are changing the environment, from acid rain to cutting down too many trees, and what the results of our actions are..

Donovan Alexander

zeljkosamtrac/iStock

• We, as humans, have become dependent on luxuries such as cars, houses, and even our cell phones.
• Things like overconsumption, overfishing, and deforestation are dramatically impacting our world. 
• But what does our love for manufactured metallic and plastic goods do to the environment ?

The environment is a complicated web of ecosystems that depend on each other, and people significantly impact its health and well-being. While we rely on the environment for survival and well-being, our actions often have unintended and harmful consequences.

From pollution and deforestation to climate change and habitat destruction, our environmental impact is widespread and significant. Here we’ll explore how humans affect the environment, the consequences of our actions, and how we can mitigate our impact and protect the planet for future generations.

1. Overpopulation could be impacting the environment

Diy13/iStock

Survival used to mean repopulating. That, however, is quickly becoming true for the opposite as we reach the maximum carrying capacity that our planet can sustain, so some experts claim. Overpopulation has become an epidemic since mortality rates have decreased, medicine has improved, and industrial farming methods were introduced, thus keeping humans alive for much longer and increasing the total population.

The effects of overpopulation are thought to be severe, with one of the most powerful being the degradation of the environment . Humans require lots of space, whether for farmland or industries, which also takes up tons of space. An increased population results in more clear-cutting , resulting in severely damaged ecosystems . Without enough trees to filter the air, CO₂ levels increase, potentially damaging every single organism on Earth.

Another issue is our dependency on coal and fossil fuels for energy; the larger the population, the more fossil fuels will be used. Using fossil fuels (such as oil and coal) results in copious amounts of carbon dioxide in the air- threatening the extinction of thousands of species , which adds to the effect that forest depletion already has.

Humanity continuously requires more space, which devastates ecosystems and increases CO₂ levels, further devastating the delicate environment . Although processed materials are necessary to power the cities, the previous assessment tells us that the planet can only sustain so much damage until it begins to damage us . However, many other experts point to the fact that human population levels are not really a concern , with others claiming we need more people!

2. Pollution has a direct impact on the environment

zeljkosantrac/iStock

Pollution is everywhere. From the trash thrown out on the freeway to the millions of metric tons of pollution pumped into the atmosphere yearly,  it’s obvious pollution and waste is inescapable. 

Pollution is so bad that, to date, 2.4 billion people do not have access to clean water sources. Humanity continuously pollutes indispensable resources like air, water, and soil, which require millions of years to replenish.

Air is arguably the most polluted, with the US producing 147 million metric tons of air pollution each year alone. In 1950, smog was so bad in LA that the ground-level ozone (atmospheric gas that is great in the atmosphere, not so much on the ground) surpassed 500 parts per billion volume (ppbv)- well above the National Ambient Air Quality Standard of 75 ppbv (6.6 times more to be precise).

People thought they were under foreign attack as the smog burned their eyes and left an odor of bleach. That is when the devastating effect of aerosols was discovered. While air quality in the US has slightly improved, the rate in developing countries continues to plummet as smog continuously blocks out the sun in a dense shroud of pollution. This is just one of the issues we have to tackle shortly.

3. Global Warming is blamed on humans

Global warming is arguably the most significant cause of impact on the environment . The most prominent causes emanate from CO₂ levels from respiration to more detrimental reasons like burning fossil fuels and deforestation.

At any rate, humans are consistently increasing CO₂ levels globally- every year . The highest level of CO₂ in recorded history before 1950 was about 300 parts per million . However, current measurements of CO₂ levels have exceeded 400 PPM, abolishing every record dating back 400,000 years.

The increase in CO₂ emissions has contributed to the planet’s average temperature increasing by almost a whole degree.

As the temperature increases, arctic land ice and glaciers melt, which causes the ocean levels to rise at a rate of 3.42mm per year, allowing more water to absorb more heat, which melts more ice, creating a positive feedback loop that will cause the oceans to rise 1-4 feet by 2100.

So what’s the big deal?

4. Humans could be impacting climate change

Sepp/iStock

Climate change is closely connected to the historical development of industry and technology. As global temperatures increase, Earth’s weather patterns will drastically change. While some areas will experience longer growing seasons, others will become barren wastelands as water will deplete in vast areas, turning once floral regions into deserts.

The increase will impact weather patterns, promising more intense hurricanes in both size and frequency and intensifying and prolonging droughts and heat waves. But air pollution does not just affect the environment .

The evidence is mounting that poor air quality, and rising temperatures are ruining delicate ecosystems, even leading to increased asthma and cancer rates in humans.

5. Genetic modification could be a ticking time bomb

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Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have significantly contributed to humans’ survival and prosperity. GMOs are selected bred crops or crops with DNA directly implanted into them to give an advantage to the crop, whether to sustain colder temperatures, require less water, or yield more product.

But GMOs are not always intentional. For years humans have used  glyphosate , a herbicide designed to eliminate weeds – the biggest threat to any plant. However, just as humans have a learning immune system, certain weeds have developed a resistance to 22 of 25 known herbicides, with 249 species of weeds completely resistant, according to the latest scientific report.

“ Super weeds ” threaten farming lands by choking outcrops. One of the only solutions is to till the land, turning over the soil to kill the weeds and give an early advantage to the planted crops.

The disadvantage of tilling is that it causes the soil to dry faster and kills off good bacteria, making its fertile lifespan significantly shorter. To replenish the depleted soil, fertilizer is used, which introduces a whole new set of problems to the environment and can be disastrous for local agriculture in the long run. 

6. Ocean acidification needs to be avoided at all costs

Ocean acidification is caused when CO₂ dissolves into the ocean, bonding with seawater and creating carbonic acid. The acid reduces the pH levels in the water, essentially changing the Ocean acidity by 30% in the last 200 years, according to analysis – a level that the ocean has not been at in over 20 million years .

The acidity depletes the calcium concentrations, making it difficult for crustaceans to build their shell, leaving them vulnerable without their armor. Between the global temperature rise of one degree and ocean acidification,  scientists say a quarter of all coral reefs are considered damaged beyond repair, with two-thirds under serious threat. The death of coral reefs is a serious concern.

Coral reefs are home to 25% of aquatic life, many of which are responsible for the ocean’s natural filtration and the production of necessary nutrients vital for life under the sea. However, acidification is not the only watery threat, as other human activities are causing severe changes. Things like plastic pollution and overfishing are wreaking havoc on our oceans.

7. Water pollution is not good either

There are  5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris in the ocean . Not only is garbage introduced into the oceans, but also the excessive amounts of fertilizer that finds its way into the sea through rains, floods, and winds or are dumped in excess right into the largest producer of the oxygen we have.

Fertilizer contains nitrogen, an element essential for the growth of plants-  but that does not limit it to what it was intended for. Phytoplankton and algae thrive off of nitrogen, causing excessive growth in what is known as “ red tides” or “brown tides ” in areas with high concentrations of nitrogen. Brown tide is caused by the rapid growth of billions of algae, which deplete water bodies of oxygen and cause the poison to accumulate in all life that consumes it, including fish and birds. But water pollution does not end there.

Millions of tons of garbage are dumped yearly into the ocean. Since the trash mainly consists of plastics, it is largely indissoluble. The waste accumulates in large vortexes across the sea.

Marine life, including loggerhead sea turtles, are tricked into thinking they are eating food when it is only a floating plastic bag or other poisonous plastic that will cause starvation or suffocation to any unfortunate animal that mistakenly ingests it.

8. Overfishing is severe for the environment

Pollution is the number one threat to all aquatic life and is the leading cause of reduced biodiversity. This is sad, given that water and water life forms are some of our most critical natural resources. But as mentioned above, overfishing is also damaging our oceans.  

Fishing is not inherently bad for our ocean. But when not properly regulated, it can harm our oceans and people. O verfished stocks globally have tripled in half a century , and today, one-third of the world’s assessed fisheries are pushed beyond their biological limits, says the WWF. Even more so, billions of people rely on fish for protein. 

9. Deforestation is very damaging to the environment

luoman/iStock

With an exponential expansion in human beings, more food, materials, and shelter are being manufactured at astonishing rates, mostly stemming from forestry.

Forests are cleared to make way for new humans, which in turn, causes more humans; you can see the problem. According to international data, an estimated 18 million acres of trees are clear-cut each year to make way for new development and wood products- just under half of all the trees on the planet since the industrial revolution began.

With trees being one of the largest producers of oxygen, that is not good for humans- especially not for the animals that call the forest home.

With millions of species living in forests, deforestation is a significant threat to their survival and an extensive conservation issue. It also increases greenhouse gases within the atmosphere, leading to further global warming. Such human activities need to stop if we wish to survive. Even more so, recent studies have attributed deforestation to increased wildfires in areas like the Amazon. Wildfires are equally destructed, even more so, displacing both people and entire species. 

10. Acid rain is avoidable

When humans burn coal, sulfur dioxide , and nitrogen oxides are released into the atmosphere, where they rise and accumulate in the clouds until the clouds become saturated and rain acid, causing havoc on the ground beneath.

When the rain falls, it accumulates in water bodies which is especially harmful to lakes and small bodies of water. The ground surrounding the water soaks up the acid, depleting the soil of essential nutrients. Trees that absorb the acid accumulate toxins that damage leaves and slowly kill large forest areas.

Acid rain has also been known to eliminate entire fish species, causing a snowball effect of damage to the ecosystem that relies on diverse organisms to sustain the environment .

11. Ozone depletion is one impact we may have reversed

nito100/iStock

The ozone layer is renowned for absorbing harmful UV rays that would otherwise be detrimental to the health of all walks of life. Without an ozone layer, walking outside would be unbearable.

Ozone comprises three bonded oxygens that float up to the stratosphere, absorbing a substantial amount of UV radiation and protecting all life below. However, “ozone-depleting substances” (or ODS), primarily made up of chlorine and bromine, find their way up to the stratosphere, where they strip the O3 of oxygen, destroying its capabilities of absorbing UV light.

The human impact is devastating for plants susceptible to UV light, including wheat and barley , two indispensable crops to humans.

Although most chemicals that deplete the ozone layer have been banned, the substances that have already been released can take upwards of 80 years to reach the upper atmosphere so it will be some time before our protective boundary will be fully functional again. Until then, slap on that sunscreen and be safe out there.

What can be done in the future?

We must support the earth we live on, but the world will live on no matter what. Human impacts the natural habitat in so many ways, and we need to be aware of our environmental input.

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Whether we live with it or not solely depends on the decisions and actions we make next. Mother nature is an unrelenting, unforgiving force, so it is probably best if we treat her well, and maybe, we can make up for the damage already dealt with.

The best time to act was yesterday, the best we can do is today, but if we wait for tomorrow, it may be too late. Society needs to help itself to survive. 

For more about our environment , be sure to stop by here . 

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Donovan Alexander After 5 years in the start-up world collaborating with companies like Google and Skoda Auto, the award-winning marketer Donovan Alexander restarted his career. He has combined his passion for artificial intelligence, fashion, design, and technology to begin a new journey as an aspiring multidisciplinary designer and technology writer. Throughout his career, he has authored over 300 articles, worked on 34 advertising campaigns for international brands, and curated 4 major art projects. Donovan is fascinated with how emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and 3D printing are changing the way we design and engineer our everyday products. With a creative studio based in the heart of Europe, Donovan loves sharing the stories of the people and organizations engineering change around the world.

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Human Impacts on the Environment

Humans impact the physical environment in many ways: overpopulation, pollution, burning fossil fuels, and deforestation. Changes like these have triggered climate change, soil erosion, poor air quality, and undrinkable water. These negative impacts can affect human behavior and can prompt mass migrations or battles over clean water.

Help your students understand the impact humans have on the physical environment with these classroom resources.

Earth Science, Geology, Geography, Physical Geography

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Earth > Ask a Scientist About Our Environment > What is the most harmful human action to Earth?

What is the single most harmful thing humans are doing to Earth? How is it harming our Earth and what will happen if we don't fix the problem? —  Melissa J., Grade 7

Herpetologist Raoul Bain answers this question:

Dear Melissa,

There are many harmful things that humans are doing to Earth . So it's hard to pick just one that is the most damaging. Here are two examples of how humans are harming the environment.

First, we are rapidly changing large portions of the environment, such as when we cut down a forest to make way for a town. This is harmful because all forms of life live in the forests — from the tops of the trees to deep into the ground. So once the forests are gone, most of that life is gone with it. Forests also help to provide the oxygen that we breathe , as well as the clean water that we drink.

The building of new towns changes the landscape.

Secondly, we are also rapidly changing the environment by adding too much waste to it, such as when cars and generators release carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) into the air. Releasing waste is natural and necessary. Plants need CO 2  to live, and one of their waste products is oxygen, which we need to live. But we are releasing so much CO 2  into the air that the plants cannot possibly use it all. And there are fewer and fewer plants to use it when we cut down forests. The extra CO 2  that collects in our atmosphere is a major cause of global warming.

Cars release CO 2  into the air.

It would be easy to say "Stop cutting down forests!" and "Stop putting so much CO 2  in the air!" But this would mean that we would have to find new ways to house ourselves and grow our crops, stop driving cars, and stop using electricity generated by fuel. This would be very difficult, maybe impossible, for us to do as a society.

Other forms of energy, like wind energy, can generate electricity without emitting CO 2 .

Instead, we should only cut forests in a sustainable way and think of ways to move cars or generate electricity so that they do not add CO 2  to the air. This is why, for example, people are trying to build cars that run on hydrogen and release water instead of CO 2 . This is also why people are trying to generate electricity using the Sun , wind, or ocean tides so that there are no emissions at all.

We can each moderate our CO 2  emissions by doing things like walking or riding bikes instead of driving. We can also turn off lights or machines when we aren't using them. But we have a long way to go.

Explore More:

• Welcome to the Dzanga-Sangha Rain Forest!  Play this connect-the-dots game to explore how people, animals, and plants depend on each another. 
• Why did the turtle cross the road? Find out by watching the video  Species and Sprawl: A Road Runs Through It .

Name: Raoul Bain

Job Title: Biodiversity Specialist, Center for Biodiversity & Conservation

Known For: Raoul is a herpetologist — he studies amphibians and reptiles. Raoul goes on research expeditions to survey biodiversity  around the world, including Bolivia and Vietnam. He also trains international scientists in conservation techniques.

Cool Fact: Raoul is an expert in the amphibians and reptiles of southeast Asia. His work has led to the discovery of many new amphibian species in Vietnam!

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Find out more about global warming. How, and why, we should slow it?

Image Credits:

urban sprawl, courtesy of USGS; traffic, courtesy of LBL.gov; wind turbines, courtesy of NREL; Raoul Bain, courtesy of Raoul Bain.

September 26, 2023

Our Fragile Earth: How Close Are We to Climate Catastrophe?

Lessons from past eras when Earth was a hothouse or a snowball tell us whether we are doomed by climate change or still have time to prevent that fate

By Mark Fischetti

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No one can predict the future. But sometimes we can get a solid idea of what’s coming by looking at the past. In his new book, Our Fragile Moment: How Lessons from Earth’s Past Can Help Us Survive the Climate Crisis , renowned climate scientist Michael Mann describes the world climate change is creating based on what we know from specific times in Earth’s four-billion-year history when the planet was extremely hot or extremely cold.

Scientific American asked Mann, director of the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media at the University of Pennsylvania, to give us the main lessons from each era and to explain the warning, and the hope, they provide for today and the future. As Mann says in his book’s intro, “the collective evidence from ... the paleoclimate record of Earth’s past climatic changes ... actually provides a blueprint for what we need to do to preserve our fragile moment” on a planet that has survived much more than what we humans could.

[ An edited transcript of the interview follows .]

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Let’s start with the first two eras: the Faint Young Sun era was three billion years ago, and then Snowball Earth occurred 800 to 550 million years ago. What happened, and what did we learn?

Early on, the sun was 30 percent less bright, but the planet wasn’t frozen; the oceans were teeming with life already. As the sun gradually got brighter and brighter, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere got lower and lower during a couple billion years. As living organisms spread, they moderated the atmosphere and temperature. It suggests that there are restorative mechanisms—that life itself helps keep the planet within livable bounds. But only to a point!

Cyanobacteria loaded Earth’s atmosphere with oxygen, which had previously been largely anoxic [deficient in oxygen]. Oxygen scavenges methane, so there was a rapid disappearance of methane; Earth lost that early methane greenhouse effect. Positive feedback loops occurred. The planet spun out of control into a snowball.

Life can help keep the planet within habitable bounds, but it can also push the planet beyond those boundaries. Today we are the living things that are impacting our climate. Is our future one of resilience or instability? The paleoclimate record tells us we’re somewhere in between. We can still achieve stability, but if we continue burning fossil fuels, we will have instability.

A massive buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere 250 million years ago, during the Permian period, led to the Great Dying , when most life on Earth was wiped out. What does it tell us about the so-called sixth extinction we’re in right now?

The Permian has the greatest documented extinction—something like 90 percent of all life went extinct. There was great natural warming driven by unusually active volcanism that loaded the atmosphere with carbon dioxide. It warmed the planet rapidly on a geological timescale, although it was nowhere near the rapidity of what we’re doing today.

Some people cite this era as a reason for believing that we are experiencing runaway warming and that our extinction is now ensured. They say we’re experiencing runaway methane-driven warming from thawing permafrost—and that it’s too late to do anything about it; we’ll all be extinct. But I spent quite a bit of time going through the literature, and it doesn’t hold up. There’s no evidence that there was any major release of methane at that time. There are a whole bunch of things that make it a bad analogue for today. I go through them in the book. For example, there was a massive continent that was very dry with very tenuous, early forests that were very vulnerable to wildfire and to collapse. So there was a much greater potential for massive deforestation and therefore a massive lowering of oxygen. There was also a huge increase in sulfur in the ocean that probably extinguished quite a bit of sea life.

There are all these things that contributed to that particular catastrophe that aren’t analogous today. There’s no evidence that we’re going to see substantial lowering of oxygen concentrations from anything that we’re doing. There’s no evidence that we’re seeing massive releases of sulfur—although deoxygenation like the Black Sea has experienced, with a larger anoxic zone and die-offs, is a bit of a warning.

About 56 million years ago Earth became very hot again—as hot as it ever has been. This was the so-called Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum , the PETM. Are we headed for that instead?

This is the same as the Great Dying. Scientists no longer think that methane played a major role in the PETM. But there is a different lesson. The PETM is notable for the rapid warmup—it happened not across millions of years but in as short as 10,000 or 20,000 years. This is very rapid from a geological standpoint, although, again, it’s 100 times slower than today. The warming spike happened on top of an already warm planet; it took the planet to temperatures higher than anything that’s documented in the geological record.

The PETM reached levels of heat that would be dangerous for human beings, and we are already encountering wet-bulb temperatures [an estimation of the effect of temperature and humidity] that are deadly in some parts of the world. The PETM would have been a world where large parts of the planet were too hot for humans. So people say, “Oh, look, life adapted.” There was a massive miniaturization of some species. Horses shrunk 30 percent in order to adapt [smaller bodies, with a higher ratio of surface area to volume, have less trouble shedding heat]. The reality is that when you see something so dramatic as horses shrinking by 30 percent, that means there would have been very large amounts of maladaptive species; there would be a massive loss of life along the way. The idea is that human beings can just adapt, but those selective pressures don’t favor anyone.

Let’s jump back 10 million years before the PETM to 65 million years ago. An enormous asteroid struck the Earth, shrouding the planet in dust, which rapidly cooled its surface, killing the land-based dinosaurs (not the avian ones). That’s very different from earlier events and from climate change today. What can that episode tell us?

The dust very rapidly cooled the planet, so any animal that couldn’t burrow into the ground or find shelter—everything larger than a dog, basically—died out. The climate story is that even though it’s a scenario of global cooling rather than global warming, it was rapid. [The event is also known as the K–Pg boundary, the transition between the Cretaceous period and the Paleogene period.]

This also relates to societal fragility. In the height of the cold war, we were focused on nuclear winter. An all-out nuclear war would shroud the planet with dust, smoke and ash. The fate that befell the dinosaurs could be our fate. Carl Sagan, of course, was the one who really raised awareness. He and his colleagues published a paper in late 1983 that said it isn’t just the physical destruction that’ll get us; what will really get us is the rapid cooling of the planet.

As the cold war ended, the world felt that that particular threat had waned. But with recent tensions with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the threat by Putin to use tactical nuclear weapons, all of a sudden this threat has reemerged. The point that applies from the dinosaurs it that it isn’t the absolute levels of warmth that matter today; it’s the planet we are evolved for. The dinosaurs had evolved for a certain climate, and when it cooled rapidly, they perished. Other animals were able to exploit the niches that emerged. Ironically, it was our ancestors, the early mammals. In one sense, we’re here because the dinosaurs perished. If we have eight billion people adapted to a climate that is disappearing as we continue to warm the planet, that’s a real danger.

Much more recently we’ve had several ice ages; the Last Glacial Maximum was about 20,000 years ago. What did these cold periods reveal about our increasingly hot period now?

The K–Pg event was a punctuated interval of cooling during an otherwise warm era. About three million years ago, CO 2  levels dropped to near what they are today. To some extent, the Pleistocene [which started about 2.6 million years ago] is a better analogue for our climate today. There was no Greenland ice sheet. Sea levels were 10 feet higher at least, maybe 20. The planet was warmer than it is today. Is that the future that we are now committed to? The answer isn’t so clear-cut because of hysteresis [when a physical change lags the force that created it]. The behavior of things when you’re on a cooling scenario is different from the behavior of things when you’re on a warming scenario. You can reach the same point, and the climate can look very different depending on how you got there. It’s probably not the case that we have committed yet to the melting the Greenland ice sheet. That hysteresis effect buys us a little bit of a margin of error but not a big one. Maybe it buys us a half a degree more warming. Once again it shows us the fragile nature of this moment. We could soon exceed that range of resilience if we continue on the path we’re on.

The last timeframe in the book is the Common Era , the past 2,000 years, when humans have dominated life on Earth. You address questions we are confronting today: How will warming affect El Nino or the Asian summer monsoons? Will the North Atlantic Ocean’s conveyor-belt circulation change? Are our climate models underestimating the pace and extent of changes underway? Given all that, what worries you the most? What surprises you?

What worries me the most is beyond the hockey stick. [The “hockey stick” was a graph published by Mann and others in 1999. It showed that the global average temperature was the same or slightly decreasing for more than 900 years and then turned sharply upward from the mid-1900s through 1999. It looked like a hockey stick laying on its side, with the blade at the far right pointing up in the air.] The obvious difference from past events is that we’ve warmed the climate so much faster during this timeframe. It turns out that El Nino, sea-level rise and Arctic sea ice levels can all follow the hockey stick pattern. There’s a theme: changes to some of these things are happening sooner than we expected.

One of these is the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, or AMOC—the ocean conveyor belt. That’s one of the surprises: the dramatic slowdown that we already see. There has been a dramatic slowdown in this circulation in the past century, even though the models say any slowdown should only occur during the upcoming next century. The blade of that hockey stick is coming about a century too early. One of the reasons is probably that we’re losing Greenland ice faster, so we’ve got more fresh water already running off into the North Atlantic earlier than we expected.

What gives you the most hope?

We don’t know precisely how close we are to triggering some devastating tipping point that could threaten human civilization. The collective evidence from the past tells us that we’ve still got a safety margin. Science tells us that if we act quickly, if we act dramatically, we can avoid warming that will bring far worse consequences. That’s the fragility of this moment: we have a little bit of a safety margin, but it’s not a large safety margin. The phrase I use often these days, a phrase that characterizes the message of this book, is the pairing of urgency and agency. Yes, it’s bad, and we face far worse consequences if we don’t act. We can see devastating climate consequences already. That’s the urgency. But the paleoclimate record tells us we haven’t triggered runaway warming yet. We can avoid that point of no return if we act quickly and dramatically. That’s the agency. We’ve got 4 billion years of Earth history. Let’s try to learn from it.

How we’re harming the planet—and ourselves

Human-caused changes in the global environment, such as deforestation and air pollution , are increasingly threatening our own health and well-being, according to Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Samuel Myers .

In an interview on the NPR radio show “Living on Earth” that aired the week of November 27, 2020, Myers—principal research scientist, planetary health, at Harvard Chan School, and director of Harvard University’s Planetary Health Alliance —discussed how our own disruptions to the planet’s natural systems are increasing the risk both of infectious diseases , such as COVID-19 , and non-infectious diseases .

“Nine million excess deaths a year are attributable to pollution,” Myers told host Steve Curwood in a wide-ranging conversation. “Those deaths are noncommunicable diseases—they’re heart disease, stroke, respiratory disease, cancer.”

The unintended consequences of human activity on human health is a recurrent theme in the 2020 book “Planetary Health: Protecting Nature to Protect Ourselves,” which Myers co-edited. Myers’ own research has shown that by mid-century rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could lead to a depletion of iron, zinc, protein, and other essential nutrients in agricultural crops. That loss could translate into nutritional deficiencies in more than 150 million people worldwide. “Who would have thought if we were sitting around 20 years ago having a beer that, you know, adding carbon dioxide would make our food less nutritious,” Myers told Curwood. “And yet it potentially affects hundreds of millions of people.”

Myers also discussed the less visible impacts of planetary changes on mental health . While the emotional effects of catastrophic events such as hurricanes or fires on victims has been well-documented, Myers said we are just starting to understand the wider but more subtle effects of “eco-anxiety or ecological grief” brought on, for example, by the destruction of two-thirds of the planet’s animal population in the past 50 years.

“The first step is to acknowledge that almost every single person in this country is experiencing some form of ecologically associated threat,” Myers said. New movements such as the global climate strike organized by Greta Thunberg or Extinction Rebellion, he said, offer new hope in translating that acknowledgment into collective action. “To take action is not only necessary,” said Myers. “It’s also therapeutic.”

Listen to the “Living on Earth” interview: Planetary Health

• ENVIRONMENT

Humans have ‘stressed out’ Earth far longer, and more dramatically, than realized

A study of ancient pollen reveals that millennia of human activities transformed Earth's ecosystems as quickly as when the Ice Age ended.

Officially, we’re in what’s known as the Holocene, the geological epoch that began at the end of the last ice age. But the influence of human activity on the Earth’s ecosystems has become so extreme that it now seems to be the central driver of environmental change, leading some scientists to argue that we should think of ourselves as living in a new epoch called the Anthropocene. Usage of the term is still being debated, though, and one of the central disputes is when the start of this new epoch would be. The mid-twentieth century? The Industrial Revolution? Or might it be earlier than that—say, when agriculture took hold as a dominant feature of human life?

A new study suggests that the best answer might be the last one. According to a research team led by Ondrej Mottl and Suzette G.A. Flantua of the University of Bergen in Norway, the vegetation of the planet began changing dramatically between 4,600 and 2,900 years ago, and it’s likely that the primary cause was human activity—agriculture, deforestation , and the use of fire to clear landscapes .

“Ours is the first quantitative study showing that humans likely impacted the planet strongly not just in recent decades or centuries, but thousands of years ago,” Mottl says of their research, published today in the journal Science . The landscape changes of the last century or two, as dramatic as they have been, appear to be continuations of trends several thousands of years in the making.

But the second major finding of the research is no less significant. The change in vegetation over the last few thousand years rivals the degree of vegetation change that occurred as the Ice Age yielded to a warming planet between 16,000 and 10,000 years ago. That’s when the ice sheets and glaciers that covered much of the Northern Hemisphere receded, when landscapes of ice yielded to forests and tundra and grasslands, and when a global temperature increase of 6 degrees Celsius (10.8 degrees Fahrenheit) led to changing plant regimes across the globe.

  “We didn’t expect that the change in the last few thousand years would be even larger than what happened as the Ice Age ended,” Flantua says.

History written in pollen

The study’s results were derived from 1,181 fossil pollen sequences from sites around the world. Pollen that is blown by wind or washed by rain into a lake or bog can get buried in the sediment at the bottom, preserving a snapshot of the vegetation that existed around the water body at a particular time, which can be determined by radiocarbon dating .

Using a database of well-dated sediment cores from around the world, the researchers were able to identify the extent to which pollen compositions had changed over time. Because they were seeking to extract a global pattern from more than a thousand data sets, they didn’t try to analyze which species of vegetation had been replaced by which others at any particular place. They focused only on the overall rate of change over the past 18,000 years.

That’s how they documented a second period of rapid vegetation change, after the one resulting from the end of the Ice Age. The onset of that second period varied by region, between 4,600 and 2,900 years ago. But the acceleration of vegetation change was seen on every continent except Antarctica.

The study was the first to document that acceleration with quantitative data, but a 2019 study that surveyed 250 archaeologists about past human agricultural activity around the globe came to similar conclusions: By 3,000 years ago, much of the planet’s terrestrial surface had been markedly transformed by human activity. The lead author of that study, Lucas Stephens , an archaeologist and environmental policy expert at Duke University, says the two studies in tandem paint a compelling picture.

“Their database of global pollen records is impressive,” Stephens says. “I think the most novel and important finding is that the rate of vegetation change now is approaching or even exceeding rates at the Pleistocene/Holocene transition”—i.e., the period at the end of the Ice Age. “That rate of change has frightening implications for the future.”

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Stephen T. Jackson , an ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, agrees that the research is significant. “It is an important and provocative analysis,” he says. But he cautions that other factors besides human activities might be at work, such as natural climate change.

“In some parts of the world, vegetation change is clearly driven by human activities,” Jackson says. “But in other regions we have good documentation of climate change that’s sufficient to drive vegetational changes. And in many of those same areas, there’s very little evidence of widespread human activities.”

The human touch

Mottl and Flantua are careful to qualify that their research does not demonstrate that human activities caused the vegetation changes they’ve documented. That is a subject for future research, they say. But the correlation is undeniable, says Jonathan T. Overpeck , a University of Michigan climate scientist who authored a commentary article in Science on Mottl and Flantua’s research.

“They don’t make the causal link, but I would agree that the most logical explanation is human land use,” he says. “Because we know that humans are clearing land for agriculture, they’re using fire for managing land surface. It’s up to archaeologists to say exactly what the processes were, but it certainly looks like we’re seeing the fingerprint of human beings as primary causal agents behind these changes that started several thousand years ago.”

And this has important implications for ecosystem management as we try to ameliorate the effects of recent and future global climate change, the researchers say. If what we take to be a “natural” landscape is in actuality one that has developed in tandem with human activities, does it make sense to try to preserve things as they presently are, as if that is a reflection of a natural ideal?

“Maybe what is being considered pristine is not so pristine at all,” Flantua says.

“Instead of trying to maintain species compositions that existed in the past, we have to start managing for change and managing for the future,” Overpeck says. “Many of the forests we have now are dying because those trees established under cooler, moister conditions. As the climate becomes hotter and more extreme, we have to plant species that can handle that.”

What we’re looking at now is what Overpeck calls a “one-two punch.” We’ve got acute and rapidly intensifying climate change on the heels of thousands of years of extreme vegetation change. How is the planet going to handle that? No one knows.

“But that one-two punch is really going to stress out our forests,” he says. “And in order for forests to take up carbon, they’ve got to be healthy.”

In other words: It seems that we’ve long laid a heavy hand on the planet’s ecosystems, and perhaps now it is time to wield that hand more deliberately and creatively. You might call it Anthropocene 2.0.

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News from the Columbia Climate School

The Limits to Human Domination of Nature

Steven Cohen

Issues of war and peace, racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, and economic oppression are the result of humans interacting with other humans. These dysfunctions are as old as humanity, and they cause great pain and suffering. As an optimist, I hope they are receding, but as a realist, I know they will never go away. While humans have always battled, as my colleague Peter Coleman has observed, much more often, they have made peace together. We cooperate more than we fight, even if it’s the fights that history takes note of. As the journalists often say: “if it bleeds, it leads.” When someone helps a mom carry her baby stroller up the subway stairs, it’s not news. Push that mom down the steps, and there is a photo on the front page of the New York Post. Anyway, carrying the stroller is a common occurrence; assault, fortunately, is not. Humans interacting with humans is an old story. So too, have been our efforts to use the planet’s resources for food, clothing, and shelter. But there is something new in the world- we not only use the planet, but our technology has begun to enable us to change the planet and its fundamental systems.

For at least half a millennium, human technology has impacted elements of our planet. When sailing ships carried Europeans to the American continent, they brought with them diseases that native Americans had not developed immunities to. Many died from the “invasive species” of European disease. Today that process is accelerated by global air travel and trade, and so we find ourselves falling victim to viruses we have little ability to resist. On a larger scale, our chemicals and plastics invade the earth’s soil, water and air and damage the living creatures that depend on those resources. Some of the impacts of our technology are large-scale, physical and well understood, such as climate change. Other impacts of technology such as the Coronavirus and various assaults on biodiversity are more complex, less studied, and not as well understood.

Our economic philosophy is to introduce new technologies and chemicals into our daily life and worry about their impact on health and the environment later. In a global economy, there is increased pressure to innovate to compete. Applying the precautionary principle to new technologies as we do with new drugs would reduce the pace of innovation and would therefore reduce economic growth. In our current economic-focused mindset, there is no time to measure the side-effects of new technologies as we do for new drugs.  Since most of the economic growth of the past century has been a result of the commercial application of new technologies, our economic system is designed to ignore environmental impacts until they are so dangerous, they can’t be denied.

In 1970, at the beginning of our effort to seriously regulate environmental pollution, there were 3.7 billion people on the planet; today, there are nearly 7.9 billion people. While our population has more than doubled in the past half-century, our planet has not. It’s the same size planet we had back in 1970. Technology has allowed us to increase production while reducing pollution. Our technologies also allow us to utilize more of the planet’s resources than ever before, and the rate of population growth has been reduced. In some of the more developed parts of the world, population is shrinking. But resource consumption continues to grow as our economies develop.

There is little question that human activities have damaged and sometimes dominated nature. But dominating nature is proving to be a little more difficult than some might have thought. The forces of natural environmental systems have proven to be more than current technologies can handle. We are inadvertently and deliberately damaging the natural systems that provide us with biological necessities: food, water, and air. There are scientists who discuss “geoengineering” or efforts to influence natural systems at a planetary level. Fortunately, there is no market for geoengineering or obvious commercial application of these technologies. Large-scale technologies such as carbon capture and storage will require government funding at the level of the American military budget. It’s possible it could happen, but I wouldn’t bet on it. There has long been serious discussion about geoengineering to combat climate change. As Fred Pearce wrote several years ago in Yale Environment 360 :

“Geoengineering the climate to halt global warming has been discussed almost as long as the threat of warming itself. American researchers back in the 1960s suggested floating billions of white objects such as golf balls on the oceans to reflect sunlight. In 1977, Cesare Marchetti of the Austria-based International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis discussed ways of catching all of Europe’s CO2 emissions and injecting them into sinking Atlantic Ocean currents. .. In 1982, Soviet scientist Mikhail Budyko proposed filling the stratosphere with sulphate particles to reflect sunlight back into space. The first experiments to test the idea of fertilizing the oceans with iron to stimulate the growth of CO2-absorbing algae were carried out by British researchers in 1995. Two years later, Edward Teller, inventor of the hydrogen bomb, proposed putting giant mirrors into space. Still, many climate scientists until recently regarded such proposals as fringe, if not heretical, arguing that they undermine the case for urgent reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.”

The sheer hubris of advocates of geoengineering needs to be understood as horrifying given our current level of knowledge of earth systems science and ecology.  We can’t even predict the indirect ecological impact of building a sea wall. Why do we believe we understand the earth well enough to engineer on a planetary level?  Still, if one of these egomaniacal billionaires figures out a way to monetize manipulations of our planet’s fundamental systems, we might eventually become nostalgic for current existential threats like climate change. Our ability to disrupt the environment on a planetary scale is limited but growing . Our understanding of the impacts of our planned and unplanned disruptions is also limited and growing far slower than needed.

What is missing from our economic system and its technological base is humility and reverence for a universe that may, well, in some measure, always be beyond scientific understanding. Creation and our own evolution can be studied, but in my view, there may always be a point where science must give way to something I might call spiritual, and others might call religious. We have built our social, political, and economic order around science and technology and that is a path we cannot turn away from. We need more funding for science education and research- particularly about our planet and its amazing complexity. We need to pay serious attention to the environmental effects of human activities and build sustainable human settlements that minimize our impact on the planet. But we also need to build a reverence for nature and the environment into our value system. We need to devote more thought and resources to preserving and protecting natural systems.

In the science-fiction franchise Star Wars , the home planet is a world-city. There is no nature. When I was growing up, the cartoon show The Jetsons was the same. The dog walked on a treadmill, cars flew through the sky, food came from a machine in the wall and there were no trees or gardens. If the past is prologue and trends continue, there will come a time when human technology could supplant nature. We are nowhere near that now, but the question we need to address is: Would we ever want to live in a world without nature? While I doubt anyone would ever plan to eradicate our natural ecological systems, no one ever planned to warm the planet or inundate its oceans with plastic. Although we don’t know how to monetize geoengineering, we have monetized nature. Homes with views of unpolluted nature and water, park access, and clean air cost more than the same homes without those amenities.  Tourism in natural settings is a multi-billion-dollar global business. Humans value nature and will pay to preserve it and enjoy it. Generally, I am an advocate of technological fixes for environmental problems. Technological solutions are usually the best way to solve the problems caused by technology. But there are limits. Geoengineering is where I draw the line. In its place, let’s teach and learn humility, spirituality, and a reverence for the miraculous planet we have been given and must preserve for those who follow us.

Views and opinions expressed here are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Columbia Climate School, Earth Institute or Columbia University.

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It wasn’t so long ago that climate change denialists called it “hubris” to believe that humans were significant enough to damage the earth’s ecosystems. Of course, it was never hubris. It was science.

Now people on the other side are calling geoengineering research “hubris”. I don’t take that line seriously, just as I didn’t when denialists used it. If the science supports it and we have good evidence to believe it can alleviate mass human suffering and death, then we have to at least consider it.

A couple of phrases in this piece suggest where the author is coming from — or at least some acceptance of a more modern, conventional mindset that, I believe, will continue to perpetuate the very problems that the author seeks to solve. First, writing “… our chemicals and plastics invade the earth’s soil, water and air…” is not just grammatically incorrect but reveals a sense of our planet as an object. The term “the earth” can only refer to the ground, soil or dirt. Thus the phrase “the earth’s soil” is redundant. If, instead, the author is intending to refer to the planet (which one might assume, given the possessive and the following elements), the name (in English) of our planet is “Earth” (no “the” and capital “E”). Thus, the basic, correct way to write that phrase would be “… plastics invade Earth’s soil, water and air…”. The use of Earth’s proper name, with no objectifying “the”, honors the planet as the grand living being it is (not only that, simple grammar teaches that persons and specific places are capitalized, like “Oklahoma” and “Susan” — not “the oklahoma” or “the susan” — or “the mars” for that matter”). Referring to our planet as “the earth” perpetuates Civilization’s notion that our planet is simply a (non-living) thing, upon which actual living things go about their business, which perpetuates the idea that drilling, mining, stripping and polluting the ‘thing’ is perfectly acceptable. The second part of the same sentence extends this mindset and suggests that the planet is a pool of stuff ready to be exploited: “… and damage the living creatures that depend on those resources .” [emphasis added]. Earth is not made up of “resources” but instead of a vast and uncountable array of autonomous elements, be they what we call alive or inanimate. So-called “creatures” (itself a word that originates from the idea that the Universe and every living being has been created by some overseeing entity, which allows for the horrific notion that those living beings are property that can be given to another) do not see the world as resources. They interact with other living beings as autonomous elements. They possess other elements only so far as they can defend that possession. It is only Civlized humans that have conferred the concept of ownership upon other autonomous elements and then consider those elements as “resources”. “Resource” is a Civilized human concept and should never be used when talking about Earth, other beings and elements of Earth, or other people. I mention this to say that, after so many years navigating the horrific world Civilization has created (and what’s left of the beautiful world that we’re destroying), I look to authors who have come to terms with this critical divergence from the conventional, for useful advice. For the most part, I find that suggestions or ‘insights’ fall far short of pointing us where we actually need to go. That is, they never seem to acknowledge the mental box that humans who are members of Civilization have been born into — and within which most thinking reverberates.

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Effect of Human Activities on The Environment

Introduction.

Human beings form an integral part of the Environment and have the greatest ecological footprint. We have resourcefully restructured all aspects of earthly life. This has influenced Human evolution, from the very first Human ancestors to our modern-day selves, and indeed, we have come a long way through nearly two million years of evolution. From advances in man's social behavior to accomplishing new feats in various fields, we always strive to provide a better standard of living for civilization. However, Humans are very much a part of the Environment we live in, and our mostly well-intended actions have far-reaching side Effects on the entire ecosystem and Environment. In this article, we explore the various Human Activities that destroy the Environment.

The Environment has suffered for thousands of years due to Human Activities. Since as Homo sapiens we first walked the earth, there have been several modifications on the planet and around us through the development of infrastructure, travel, and the incorporation of urbanization and other commercial networks.   The change, however, has been both positive and negative—and likely for the betterment resulting in the worse at some point in time.

Reason for changes

The reason for the changes in the Environment primarily constitutes to the following facts that have made an adverse Effect on it-

1. The increasing Population:

As the Human race we have been affecting our Environment for thousands of years and this has been a topic of worry for the scientists primarily because of the surpassing of the planet’s food supply. Accommodating the increasing population has been a major cause for much of the impact that we’ve had on our Environment. However, the food supply of ours can support more lives than ever at the moment, although this reality has the profound impact of reducing the population turnover and leading to its rapid expansion. 

2.  Modification of Agriculture, Domesticated Animals, and Genetics

So the demand to feed a growing Human population has resulted in advances in agriculture, which are the first major Human innovation to enable survival as a species. Earlier agriculture allowed the hunter-gatherer cultures to settle an area and cultivate their food, which immediately impacted the Environment by transplanting the non-native species to newer areas and prioritizing the growth of various plants and animals over each other. Recently there have been several genetic modifications in Human beings to enhance their lifespan and health.  Also, the domestication of livestock and other species by early Humans has affected the Environment by altering the land in significant ways as animal grazing contributed to Environmental changes by deteriorating native grasses and thus, leading to soil erosion. Industrialization of agriculture is another major cause for the same as in the last several centuries it has prompted a subsequent wave of counter-movements, which seek to undo the negative Effects of Human intervention. 

3. Deforestation and Reforestation

Since the growth in the population needs to be housed there has been massive deforestation to build homes for the people, which has resulted in significant negative Effects on the Environment. Deforestation has many adverse Effects, including decreasing oxygen levels (and increasing greenhouse gases), elevated risk of soil erosion, and the destruction of animal habitats. However, the reforestation efforts seek to replace as much forest land as is possible every year.

4. Pollution

A major life-threatening Human activity that affects the Environment not only by contributing to air pollution, or water, or soil pollution but has also become a major threat for the entire Human species. It has also contributed to tremendous Effects on the world, leading to Environmental degradation and problems like acid rain and harmful algal blooms in the ocean.

5. Global Warming and Climate Change

They are amongst the major challenges faced not only by the Environment but by the entire Human race as they are among the most critically impactful ways that Humans have affected the Environment. The release of CO2 contributes to the deterioration of the earth’s ozone layer, which in turn, contributes to global climate change, hence, the Human Impact on the Environment is a Double-edged Sword as the expansion of the Human population and the growing requirements are resulting in changes that may be negative, but as Humans also have the power to correct their mistakes and change the Environment for the better, there's a ray of hope.

10 Human Activities That Affect The Environment

Deforestation:

Deforestation refers to the clearing of trees from a forest, which is then converted into non-forest use. Deforestation can include forest land being turned into farmland, ranches, or for public usage and urbanization. Trees take in greenhouse gases and give oxygen to nature, which we use to breathe. Chopping down trees to increase land availability due to an increase in population and bringing up new industries has led to an ecological system imbalance, leading to a decrease in oxygen levels.

Water Pollution:

The presence of an excessive amount of toxins in water bodies is referred to as water pollution. Polluted water from large-scale factories, the absence of adequate sanitation facilities, numerous Human actions along water sources have facilitated water contamination to a great degree. Industrial effluents and sewage are directly released into the rivers, increasing this pollution. Seas and oceans also sometimes face oil spills, which have long-term Effects on water, leaving it inhospitable to aquatic life.

Air Pollution:

The presence of an excessive amount of toxins in the air is referred to as air pollution. Overpopulation has caused a great deal of air pollution, especially due to the use of vehicles for transport. Harmful factory gases are released into the atmosphere, forcing us to breathe air that contains toxic substances and pollutants, which contribute to different medical conditions, including respiratory and cardiovascular disorders.

The exploitation of Marine Life:

our marine life is becoming endangered due to the massive scale of commercial fishing. Water degradation continues to hamper the lives of marine organisms and renders their longevity uncertain. In certain instances, when these fish are ingested by Humans, it contributes to sickness and disease.

Global Warming:

Global warming refers to the rapid rise in Earth's average surface temperature over the past century, mainly due to the greenhouse gasses released by people burning fossil fuels necessary for industrialization. It is seen as a consequence of an increase in Earth's temperature due to the greenhouse Effect and connected Human actions. It results in the melting of ice caps and therefore increases the sea levels triggering tsunamis, cyclones, and other natural calamities.

Habitat Loss:

Wildlife conservation is becoming tougher because their natural habitat is constantly being threatened and destroyed. Water pollution and deforestation are the main reasons for habitat loss.  Deforestation may give rise to abundant land for Humans but leaves animals homeless.

Extinction:

Human Activities are triggering extinction on an unprecedented and mass scale. The destruction of natural habitats, Environmental hazards, global warming, poaching, pollution, and deforestation are some of the leading causes of this tragedy.

Overuse Of Harmful Pesticides And Fertilizers:

With a great uptick in population, there is also a rise in food production. To aid this production, however, crops are produced through the use of toxic fertilizers and have extremely poor nutritional values to satisfy the demand for food security.

Urbanization:

Urbanisation refers to the increasing number of people who reside in cities. Urbanization has also contributed to a major transition and disparity in our ecological Environment. This is because urbanization requires large tracts of land to be deforested and then used for building cities.

Ozone Layer Depletion:

The three oxygen atoms make up an ozone ring. While oxygen lends life to organisms, ozone is a toxic gas. It may be dangerous on Earth, but ozone plays a critical function in the various ambient layers of the atmosphere. UV rays are emitted by the sun, causing harm to animals, specifically skin cancer in Humans, and hence are harmful. Ozone is preventing such UV radiation from entering the planet, thus protecting all of us from UV damage. Over the years, however, this defensive layer has been eroding across the world.

A dramatic depletion was discovered back in the 1980s due to the CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) used in refrigerators and fire extinguishers. This is why production firms are now mandated to produce CFC-free devices around the world.

FAQs on Effect of Human Activities on The Environment

1. What Is The Importance Of Afforestation And Waste Management For Environmental Conservation?

Afforestation:

Afforestation refers to the creation of a forest or a tree stand (forestation) in a region where no vegetation cover was present earlier. Use a search engine like Ecosia, which directs some of its funds to afforestation around the world.

Waste Management:

Waste management refers to diverse waste management and disposal schemes. It can be that waste is discarded, destroyed, processed, recycled, reused, or controlled. The primary goal of waste management is to reduce the volume of unusable resources and to eliminate possible risks to safety and the climate. Reduce, reuse, and recycle wastes whenever possible. Do not throw waste, especially plastic into water bodies.

2. What Steps Can Humans Take To Make A Positive Impact On The Ecosystem?

Humans, through deliberate actions, can make a definitive impact and positively influence the ecosystem. Some of the steps we can take in this direction include: -

Water treatment plants for the treatment of industrial effluents and sewage need to be set up by us to prevent water bodies from getting contaminated. 

To prevent the spread of air pollution, we must use public transport whenever possible. More trees should be planted, as they naturally purify the air. 

Wildlife Conservation:

Poaching and hunting must stop. We must boycott animal products, especially those made after hunting or poaching an endangered animal.

3. What are some of the Human Activities that destroy the Environment?

Human Activities that destroy the Environment are numerous however, a few of them that are responsible for major losses include the following:

Logging/cutting down of trees is a major activity that is affecting the forest covers of the earth. 

Noise-making through several types of machinery and technology also has an adverse Effect.

Quarrying is another challenge for the Environment.

Sand winning.

Bush burning.

Open defecation (especially in water bodies)

The burning of fossil fuels and toxic gases that lead to air pollution is a major threat.

4. What is the impact of Human Activities on the soil as part of the Environment?

It has always been a fact that Humans are deteriorating the Environment in every possible way for their welfare and nonetheless, some Human Activities have a clear and direct impact on the Environment. These Activities include land-use change, land management, land degradation, soil sealing, and mining. However, the intensity of land use also has a great impact on soils which is why there is a rise in problems like soil erosion, depletion of soil, and other such issues.

5. How do Human Activities affect the rate of soil erosion?

Agricultural practices have a very significant impact on soil erosion rates. As contributors to the problem of soil erosion some Human Activities like repeatedly walking or riding the same areas lead to the erosion of soil slowly over time. Also, forest fires contribute to soil erosion, as vegetation previously holding the soil in place is often destroyed. The students can visit the Vedantu website for more such information and download pdf for the same for free. Apart from this they will also find a lot of related study material to practice and learn.

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Essay on the impact of human activities on environment.

Essay on the Impact of Human Activities on Environment!

In order to meet the basic needs of increases population, the present society has under taken a series of steps like rapid industrialization, unplanned urbanisation, deforestation, overexploitation of natural sources, etc.

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The outcomes of the above human activities have contributed significantly to the degradation of environment around us.

Some important impacts of human activities on environment are outlined below:

1. Deforestation:

In order to provide timber and farm land to increased population, large number of forest trees are cut and forest area is converting to farm lands. The rate of deforestation is so faster that around 1.5 million hectare of forest cover is lost every year is India alone. The process of deforestation results in decreasing rainfall, increasing global temperature, loss of top soil, modification of climatic conditions etc.

2. Industrialization:

Although the industrial activities of man provide basic need of the society, simultaneously the same release a lot of pollutants to the environment. The pollutants in environment cause loss of raw materials, health hazards, increase in death rate, damage to crop, making environment unfit for living organisms etc.

3. Loss of ecological balance:

The excessive use, misuse and mis-management of biosphere resources results in disturbance in ecosystem or ecological imbalance.

4. Air pollution:

The anthropogenic release of various air pollutants to the environment causes a number of dreaded phenomena like green house effect, ozone layer depletion, acid rain and smog formation etc.

5. Water pollution:

Human activities in respect of disposal of sewage wastes, solid wastes, municipal wastes, agricultural and industrial wastes cause the environment unfit for day to day use. Besides, polluted water spreads or leads to different diseases.

6. Increased consumption of natural resources:

Since the starting of industrial era, the natural resources are constantly utilised for the production of one or more products for the day to day use of society.

7. Production of waste:

Rapid industrialization and unplanned urbanization release a lot of toxic waste material either in solid or liquid or gaseous state which induces a number of serious environmental hazards.

8. Extinction of Wildlife:

Since forests are natural habitats of wild life (both plants and animals) deforestation leads to the extinction of valuable wild life and loss of biodiversity.

9. Habitual destruction:

The commercial and industrial activities associated with mining, construction of dams, fishing, agriculture etc. cause habitat destruction which is a pathway to pollution.

10. Noise pollution:

The man-made noise due to mechanized automobile, industries, trains, aero planes, social functions etc. causes noise pollution which has impact on both biotic and a biotic components of environment.

11. Radiation pollution:

The radiations from radioactive substances used in nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons can have significant impact on genetic materials of body (DMA, RHA etc.)

12. Soil erosion:

The anthropogenic processes like deforestation and overgrazing induce soil erosion which causes soil moisture reduction, lowering of productivity, decline in soil fertility etc.

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• Human Impact on Natural Environment

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Environment

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What evidence exists that Earth is warming and that humans are the main cause?

We know the world is warming because people have been recording daily high and low temperatures at thousands of weather stations worldwide, over land and ocean, for many decades and, in some locations, for more than a century. When different teams of climate scientists in different agencies (e.g., NOAA and NASA) and in other countries (e.g., the U.K.’s Hadley Centre) average these data together, they all find essentially the same result: Earth’s average surface temperature has risen by about 1.8°F (1.0°C) since 1880. 

( bar chart ) Yearly temperature compared to the twentieth-century average from 1850–2023. Red bars mean warmer-than-average years; blue bars mean colder-than-average years. (line graph) Atmospheric carbon dioxide amounts: 1850-1958 from IAC , 1959-2023 from NOAA Global Monitoring Lab . NOAA Climate.gov graph, adapted from original by Dr. Howard Diamond (NOAA ARL).

In addition to our surface station data, we have many different lines of evidence that Earth is warming ( learn more ). Birds are migrating earlier, and their migration patterns are changing.  Lobsters  and  other marine species  are moving north. Plants are blooming earlier in the spring. Mountain glaciers are melting worldwide, and snow cover is declining in the Northern Hemisphere (Learn more  here  and  here ). Greenland’s ice sheet—which holds about 8 percent of Earth’s fresh water—is melting at an accelerating rate ( learn more ). Mean global sea level is rising ( learn more ). Arctic sea ice is declining rapidly in both thickness and extent ( learn more ).

The Greenland Ice Sheet lost mass again in 2020, but not as much as it did 2019. Adapted from the 2020 Arctic Report Card, this graph tracks Greenland mass loss measured by NASA's GRACE satellite missions since 2002. The background photo shows a glacier calving front in western Greenland, captured from an airplane during a NASA Operation IceBridge field campaign. Full story.

We know this warming is largely caused by human activities because the key role that carbon dioxide plays in maintaining Earth’s natural greenhouse effect has been understood since the mid-1800s. Unless it is offset by some equally large cooling influence, more atmospheric carbon dioxide will lead to warmer surface temperatures. Since 1800, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere  has increased  from about 280 parts per million to 410 ppm in 2019. We know from both its rapid increase and its isotopic “fingerprint” that the source of this new carbon dioxide is fossil fuels, and not natural sources like forest fires, volcanoes, or outgassing from the ocean.

Philip James de Loutherbourg's 1801 painting, Coalbrookdale by Night , came to symbolize the start of the Industrial Revolution, when humans began to harness the power of fossil fuels—and to contribute significantly to Earth's atmospheric greenhouse gas composition. Image from Wikipedia .

Finally, no other known climate influences have changed enough to account for the observed warming trend. Taken together, these and other lines of evidence point squarely to human activities as the cause of recent global warming.

USGCRP (2017). Climate Science Special Report: Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume 1 [Wuebbles, D.J., D.W. Fahey, K.A. Hibbard, D.J. Dokken, B.C. Stewart, and T.K. Maycock (eds.)]. U.S. Global Change Research Program, Washington, DC, USA, 470 pp, doi:  10.7930/J0J964J6 .

National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Partnership (2012):  National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy . Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Council on Environmental Quality, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Washington, D.C. DOI: 10.3996/082012-FWSReport-1

IPCC (2019). Summary for Policymakers. In: IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate. [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, V. Masson-Delmotte, P. Zhai, M. Tignor, E. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Nicolai, A. Okem, J. Petzold, B. Rama, N.M. Weyer (eds.)]. In press.

NASA JPL: "Consensus: 97% of climate scientists agree."  Global Climate Change . A website at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus). (Accessed July 2013.)

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Essay Writing Topics: Topic 29 – Has human harmed the Earth or made it a better place?

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People have been living on the Earth for thousands of years. Human activity influences the Earth. Some people believe that the Earth is being harmed by human activity. Others feel that human activity makes the Earth a better place to live.  In my opinion,  the earth is being damaged by human activity. There are many statements supporting my opinion.

An other serious problem is  “the green-house effect. ” Human activity decreases forests and increases the usage of fuels so that the gas of carbon dioxide is output more and more and there are not enough plants to absorb it. The green-house effect is more obvious and more sensible these years.  Due to the effect, icebergs  in the south polar and north polar melt and the sea level becomes higher than before. I am worried about the cities nearby the sea and hope scientists find an effective method to eliminate the green-house effect.

From the above statements, we can conclude that human activity brings the Earth many damages. Fortunately people have recognized the point and  I believe that the Earth will become a better place to live with our ceaseless efforts.

English Writing Practice: Topic 29 – Sample 2

Even though  we face so many crisis, no one can deny that Earth are more suitable for human habitation. That is the result of the efforts of generations of people. If without that, we might also live in caves and eat the crude food just like wild animals. If that is true, we must haven’t time and energy to think over the problems of the Earth because we have to look for food and avoid becoming the food of other animals. At that state, whether the Earth were harmed is not important for human because some certain crisises can annihilate the total population, such as some  infectious disease or the a change of climates.

English Writing Practice: Topic 29 – Sample 3

The quality of human life has improved greatly over the past few centuries, but Earth is being harmed more and more by human activity. As we develop our technology, we demand more from our planet.  Eventually,  this will harm people  as well.

With growth comes pollution. Companies and communities dump waste into water. Landfills are full of trash. Emissions from factories pollute the air. Barrels of industrial waste and worse, radioactive waste, have no safe place to go. If we’re not careful, we can harm our planet beyond repair.

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• Human Impact On The Environment

How Does Human Affect The Environment?

The environment is everything that surrounds us. It encompasses all the natural, living, nonliving, and artificial things. Environment can also be defined as our surroundings with all its living and non-living things such as air, water, soil, plants and animals.

Humans are mainly responsible for the destruction of the environment. The impacts of human activity on the environment are from the time of our very earliest ancestors. Since then we have all been modifying the environment as per our convenience, and at this point, today, we are losing all the valuable natural resources which cannot be gained back.

The human effects or the factors contributing to the loss of the environment are:

• Deforestation
• Overpopulation
• Disposal of wastes
• Wastage of natural resources

All these factors lead to acid rain, increased carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, acidification of lakes, depletion of the ozone layer, climate change, global warming, extinction of species, etc.

Also Read:   Environmental Issues and Solutions

This was a brief introduction to human impacts on the environment. Stay tuned with BYJU’S to learn more in detail about the Environment and the effects of Human Activities on the Environment.

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Frequently Asked Questions on How Does Human Affect The Environment?

How do humans pollute the environment.

The wastewater and sewage pollute the water bodies. The smoke from vehicles, power stations and industries pollutes the air. Plastic waste, chemical waste, radioactive waste and biomedical wastes pollute the soil.

What is deforestation and why it is done?

The cutting of a large number of trees is known as deforestation. It is done to clear the forest land for agriculture, and human settlements.

What is overpopulation?

An increase in population beyond the resources can sustain is termed overpopulation. It puts pressure on the environment

What is acid rain?

The reduction in pH of rain due to the presence of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide gases in the air is called acid rain. These gases are released during the burning of fossil fuels.

What is climate change?

Climate change refers to the changes in climatic conditions in various parts of the world, characterised by long summers, intense winters, frequent storms and heavy rainfall. This causes the destruction of livelihood and agriculture.

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Earth Is Being Harmed by Human Activity

Filed Under: Essays Tagged With: pollution

Earth is being harmed by human activity. Humans already made the earth being damaged and it is because of their own activity. In this essay I will describe how people can damaged the earth in more specific like in environment problems. Humans are responsible for taking what they believe is theirs and finding ways to destroy it. human activity is a behavior or the way that people doing in this environment in a good or bad ways. There are two topics of my essay that will support my opinion to agree with the topic which is earth is being harmed by human activity.

There are pollution, and excessive logging. These three topics will contain specific example which are will connected with the human activity. “Pollution is the introduction of a contaminant into the environment”(2013).

It is created mostly by human actions, but can also be a result of natural disaster. Pollutions have a huge effect on any living organism in an environment, making it virtually impossible to sustain life. There are so many human activities that accidentally or not already made the earth became damaged. And one of them is pollution, pollution is one of the big problem that we face now.

There are three pollutions such as, air pollution, water pollution, and land pollution. air pollution became the most famous issue in the world right now. “Air pollution is the accumulation of hazardous substance into the atmosphere that danger human life and other living matter”(2013).

The Essay on Human Activities Harming Earth

Some people say human activity makes the Earth a better place to live. But actually as we want more comfort and fancy life, we are actually damaging the Earth. There are three general ways to harm the Earth, Air, Soil and Ocean and we are damaging all three of them. Firstly, we ride our cars to go somewhere. In my opinion, cars are mainly responsible for air pollution. Air pollution is one of our ...

The simple example from human activity that accidentally we made or not of air pollution are when we drive car and the car will release the emission. One more is tobacco smoke, believe it or not smokers have a big role in air pollution.

It contains the most dangerous element of air pollution for health. Fact of cigarettes “Cigarette smoke produces 10 times more air pollutions than diesel car exhaust”(2004).

Surely all of these problems started from human activity and make a big impact for all human being in the world. The other examples again from air pollution are acid rains, aerosol sprays, manufacturing building, paint fumes, etc. The second is water pollution, “ water pollution is the introduction of chemical, biological and physical matter into large bodies of water that degrade the quality of life ” (2004).

A few facts of water pollution are “Over 73 different kinds of pesticides have been found in the groundwater that we eventually use to drink” (2004).

And in my opinion, this issue is very clear to describe how big damaged that our earth got from human activity. We can’t blame anybody in this case but at least we should realize and try to think how to react and do after we know about this one. One simple example from me are try to use non-toxic material and avoid using pesticides that can run off into water systems.

And the last one is land pollution, which is maybe we don’t notice at all but have the big impact on us. One fact from land pollution is “We throw away enough trash every day to fill 63. 000 garbage trucks” (2004).

If we realize earlier that how big impact that have we done in this earth maybe we can handle this one and decide a solution to save our earth from our activity. The second topic is excessive logging. Nowadays many people never think before they want to cut down the trees. They just cut the trees without thinking how big affect that will they get after they cut the trees to excessive or over.

The Term Paper on Mexico City Water Air Pollution

Mexico City Site and Situation: Mexico City is the largest city in Mexico. It is located in the south central part of the country in the Dis uto Federal (Federal District). Mexico City is situated in the Valley of Mexico, a highland basin at an elevation of about 2350 m and is bounded by mountains on three sides. Much of Mexico City is built on the former bed of Lake Texcoco which is spongy and ...

Some people just think in an economical thinking like they will cut almost all of trees and not thinking how many trees they still keep for the future. Actually that is really really a bad thinking, we should think in an environmental way as well. We can’t live the life in the future if we don’t think about it from now. “Excessive logging is one of the big issues that we should think after pollution”(1991).

Actually we just need a good paradigm to think about this problem and how can we solve this problem. One of many example that we can learn from this case is try to limit the demand and supply.

Maybe it will have another reaction in the economic, but we should think in environment way as well. For example, some company should limit their logging and maybe increase the cost of the wood so it will decrease the demand supply wood from the consumer. In my opinion this problem will make a complicated situation which is will make another problem but so far if we can handle it together and think about this one slowly, for sure we can solve this one clearly. And in the conclusion, The earth is being harmed or damaged by human activity is genuinely right for me. Many examples that I told and spread in this essay.

From the pollutions which is include Air pollution, water pollution, and land pollution. Three of them have their own impact in this world. For example air pollution release a bad effect from automobile emission, water pollution came from many pesticide and trash that everyone throw to the river or sea and made the sea became dirty and polluted. And land pollution also came from trash that we throw on the land and made our land contaminated and can’t reduce or recycle the things again, moreover land pollution became the first impact that we got because we stay on the land.

And actually we should solve this problem first before we solve the others. And because all of these pollutions came from human activity we should fight and find the solution before too late. Excessive logging also have a big role beside the pollutions, maybe trees still growing but we never think that human activity is too expose the resources and never think what will happen in the future if we are to expose or excessive logging. Because we made the problems first and definitely we should find the solution for our best future. “Human activity should be reduce, and limit the demand to make environment sustainably” (2002).

The Essay on The Los Angeles Basin Pollution Problems

Final draft The significant air pollution problem in the Los Angeles Basin has been one of the most severe environmental issues that concerned the society. Due to the American tradition, public transportations are not so commonly used; therefore, a majority of the individuals owned a car. The most commonly used transportation is the convenient motor vehicles that are driven everywhere. With the ...

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