How much harm is man doing to the earth?

How much harm is man  doing to the earth?

We as human beings have become dependent on luxuries like cars, homes and even our cell phones. But what does our love for manufactured metal and plastic goods do for the environment? Things like excessive consumption, excessive fishing, deforestation are affecting our world dramatically.

Human activity can be directly attributed to causing hundreds of extinctions over the past two centuries, versus millions of years that naturally occur. As we move into the 21st century, humans have changed the world in unprecedented ways.

Human impact on the environment has become one of the main topics for university staff around the world. When they search for answers, the public must do their bit. At a minimum, you should be aware of all the factors that contribute to this state and share knowledge.

1. Overpopulation

Survival meant repopulating. However, it is increasingly becoming true for the opposite as we reach the maximum carrying capacity that our planet can sustain.

Ever since mortality has decreased, medicine has improved, and industrial farming methods have been introduced, thus keeping humans alive longer and increasing the total population, overpopulation has become an epidemic.

The effects of overpopulation are severe, with one of the most serious being environmental degradation.

Human beings need space and a lot of it whether it is for agriculture or industries which takes up a lot of space. The increased population results in more clear cuts, resulting in severe damage to the ecosystem. Without enough trees to filter the air, CO₂ levels rise which have the potential to harm every single organism on Earth.

Another issue is our dependence on coal and fossil fuels for energy, the larger the population, the more fossil fuels are used. The use of fossil fuels (such as oil and coal) results in copious amounts of carbon dioxide in the air – adding to the effects of forest depletion already at risk of extinction of thousands of species.

2. Pollution

Pollution is everywhere. From waste dumped on freeways to the millions of metric tons of pollution pumped into the atmosphere each year—it's clear that pollution and waste are unavoidable.

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

The air is arguably the most polluted as the US alone produces 147 million metric tons of air pollution each year.

In 1950, smog in LA was so bad that ground-level ozone (an atmospheric gas that's very good in the atmosphere, not so much on land) exceeded 500 parts per billion volume (ppbv)—well above the national ambient air quality standard. Above 75 ppbv (6.6 times higher to be exact).

People thought they were being attacked by foreigners as the mist burned their eyes and left the smell of bleach in the air. Only then was the destructive effect of aerosols discovered.

While air quality has improved slightly in the US, quality continues to decline in developing countries as haze continuously blocks the sun in a dense cover of pollution. This is just one of the issues that we have to deal with in the near future.

3. Global Warming

Global warming is arguably the biggest cause of impact on the environment. The biggest causes range from respiration through CO₂ levels to more harmful causes such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation.

At any rate, humans are steadily 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 exceed 400 ppm, eliminating every record from 400,000 years ago.

The increase in CO₂ emissions has contributed to an increase in the average temperature of the planet by almost a full degree.

As temperatures rise, Arctic land ice and glaciers melt, causing sea levels to rise at a rate of 3.42 mm per year, allowing more water to absorb more heat, which melts more ice, Creates a positive feedback loop that will lead to oceans. Rising up 1-4 feet by 2100.