Activity of People – Human Impact on the Environment

The environment in which we live in and its natural habitat around us, is essential for life to thrive in. The ecosystem in which humans rely on, consists of air, water, soil and animals. As modern technology is advancing, we build and industrialize our society that has cause and effect on the natural part of our world. We as humans love the luxuries such as cars, houses and cell phones but little do we know that it can affect the environment in many ways. The impact that humankind puts on the environment, although convenient to us, is harmful to mother nature. Some activities that cause damage to the environment are burning fossil fuels, overpopulation, climate changes, global warming and deforestation. It is depleting our resources such as air, water, destruction of soil and habitat, and pollution.

“The world’s population could swell up to 10.9 billion by the end of the century, a new United Nations analysis was found, which raised concerns that adding more than 3 billion people to the planet could further deplete natural resources and accelerate global warming (chow 1)”. According to national weather agencies, they have gathered and compiled reliable observation temperatures. Once they were analyzed and compared, it showed many rises and changes.

Overpopulation is the world’s top environmental issue, followed by many other possible consequences problems that are affecting the environment. World’s population has grown gradually over many years. “The United States is estimated to grow from 329 million people in 2019 to 434 million people by the end of the century, with most of that projected increase owing to migration ( Chow 2).” The more people, the more pollution that we are putting more carbon dioxide into the air than we should.

Industrialization has been the biggest source of pollution. To compensate for the fuel needs, we over exhausted most of the non-renewable resources like coals, minerals, and oils. “Industrial factories and power plants all pump large quantities of air pollutants, such as carbon monoxide, ozone and nitrous oxides, into the atmosphere ( Martonas p1).” Fossil fuels such as our cars, trucks, and coal fired power plants that are being burned, incompletely burnt, they release nitrogen oxide or if incompletely burned carbon monoxide and other greenhouse gases are being released into the air. Which traps heat in our atmosphere that leads to global warming and climate change. “Carbon dioxide is the primary greenhouse gas, responsible for about three-quarters of emissions ( Christina p1).” According to national geographic, carbon dioxide can linger in the atmosphere for thousands of years. Much of the pollution comes from smoky motor vehicles and power plant companies. When the toxic emissions are emitted into the air, these gases form a cover in the atmosphere and create another extra heating source that refers to global warming. Our surroundings have suffered the curse of pollution and exploitation of resources.

For many decades, scientists have been demanding that the climate crisis be taken seriously. “Despite numerous international agreements, the government has yet to take action to reduce carbon emission. Images taken over the first three weeks of March 2020 due to the order of stay at home shelter show less nitrogen dioxide over parts of the United states than the same time last year ( Holcombe p1).” The pollutant was noticeably lower in concentration in California and Washington state. Accumulation of greenhouse gases, human burning fossil fuels and coal leads to global warming and climate change. It has increased the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide. This happens because the fossil, coal, or oil that is burning process combines carbon with oxygen in the air to make carbon dioxide. The clearing of land for agriculture, industry, and other human activities has increased concentrations of greenhouse gases. Changing the natural greenhouse will affect the climate with warmer conditions that will probably lead to more evaporation and precipitation.

As the climate changes it is harming the forest and depleting the natural environment that affects all living things. Trees play an important role that gives oxygen and captures and stores the excess carbon dioxide. The loss of trees being cut down to make room for agricultural or industrial purposes. Cutting down forests not only threatens extinction of the variety of plants and animals but also causes climate disruption. That disruption leads to more extreme temperatures swings that are harmful to plants and animals. The decreasing numbers of these natural forests is leading harm to forest species and are not capable of surviving in different habitats. “ Human actions threaten species with global extinction now than ever before,” the report concludes, estimating that around one million species already face extinction, many within decades, unless action is taken (Plumer p3)”. With everything happening, the environment of earth is threatened. “Humans have greatly impacted the rates of supply of the major nutrients that constrain the productivity, composition, and diversity of the terrestrial ecosystem ( Lehman p 2).”Humans, animals, and plants will gradually lose the forests that are essential for our existence.

In conclusion, pressure on the environment will continue to only increase. The growth of advanced industrialized technologies and overpopulation has a negative impact on our planet. The pollution of factories, power plants, fossil fuel burning, and the extraction of natural resources will result in a serious environmental protection for all living things. What is clear is that if action isn’t taken to help the environment heal, it will lead to severe consequences for our environment. I think that it’s everyone's responsibility to help protect and preserve the environment for the present and future generations. We should all keep in mind that there is only one environment that is the most valuable component of life because it enables the existence of all living things.  

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