How Do Humans Affect the Environment

How Do Humans Affect the Environment

With the growing amount of interest in the welfare of our environment, it is important to do our part in protecting it. Humans affect the environment in many ways. Some examples are cutting down rain forests, polluting, and spilling oil into the ocean. The following are 5 different ways humans affect the environment:

1.) Climate Change

Climate change is a change in the weather over a period of time. Since the earth was formed, it has gone through many periods of climate change - the last one was the last ice age, which occurred approximately 20,000 years ago. Scientists are becoming increasingly concerned that humans are influencing the climate, making it increasingly hotter. If this happens, ocean levels will likely rise, wiping out land on the coasts of countries. It is believed that pollution, like carbon dioxide, contributes to the warming of our atmosphere.

2.) Anoxic Waters

Anoxic waters are areas of water (in the ocean, or elsewhere) that is depleted of dissolved oxygen. Living sea creatures, like fish, need this dissolved oxygen in order to survive. Many scientists are fearful that the British Petroleum oil spill has caused areas of anoxic waters in the Gulf, which would be devastating to the Gulf’s ocean inhabitants. Pollution, and oil spills like this can cause anoxic waters - creating essentially dead seas and oceans, devoid of all life.

3.) Land Degradation

Land degradation is a when the environment is affected by humans (or human activities). This destroys the habitats of the animals that live there - and as stated previously, animals are all linked to each other, and hurting one’s habitat will in turn lead to hurting many. Chopping down forests, and even intensive farming (see above), can lead to this, and irreparable harm to the environment.

4.) Pollution

Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an system that can cause harm or discomfort to the ecosystem. Things like littering, or dumping waste, or non-green production factories are examples of polluting.

5.) Resource Depletion

Resource depletion refers to the usage and exhaustion of resources. For example, using up all of the coal, or oil, or water in a certain place. Due to the profits that can be made, companies are doing their best to drill for as much oil as they possibly can. This has lead to speculation that we could run out within the next twenty or so years.

About the Author
Noah Williams is an active environmentalist who provides educational environmental content to Organic Items http://www.organic-items.com and he occasionally posts content to Perennial Gardens http://www.perennial-gardens.com

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