Impact of Human Activities on Environmental Degradation

Humans like any another living organism on earth interacts in one way or the other with biotic and abiotic factors in the environment. Environmental degradation  occurs when a renewable resource abiotic or biotic factor needs and uses natural resources. Forests, wildlife and grassland are extracted at a higher rate compared to the rate at which it can be replaced hence, the impact of human activities on environmental degradation. This can easily result in depletion of natural resources.

Loss of biodiversity is a significant aspect of environmental degradation. According to biologists, many species are becoming extinct at an alarming rate. Tropical forests are known to be highly diverse ecosystems but temperate habitats are also suffering. This is because humans settled in such areas first.

What is the impact of human activities on environmental degradation?

By simply existing, humans impact the environment. The only thing that sets humans apart from other living things is the ability to limit his activities and impact on various effects of the environment.  Humans therefore impact the environment in different ways including

Pollution of water

One of the most notable examples of a negative impact on the environment is water pollution. It is clear and more obvious that humans need water for survival and other important activities. According to a research carried out by Organic Farming Research Foundation, only 2 percent of farms are organic and 69 percent of fresh water supply is being contaminated by herbicides, pesticides and chemical fertilizers besides being compounded with fossil fuels and many heavy farming emissions.

Therefore, water pollution affects plants, humans and aquatic life because they heavily rely on them for survival and in plants, for their normal growth.

Land pollution

Land pollution also occur as a result of human activities, more specifically, misuse of natural resources. Some of the most common causes of land pollution include poor agricultural practices, personal consumption due to desire for bigger and better things, urban sprawl leading to elimination of natural habitats to pave way for communities, road construction and other buildings.

Industrial activities also cause land pollution due to production of poor quality products and chemical laden plastics. There are also other unethical human practices such as illegal dumping and they affect the environment and surrounding areas.

Air pollution

Human activities have also led to environmental pollution or air pollution. The good thing is that impact of human activities on environmental degradation air pollution has been significantly reducing over the past years. Air quality is increasing and the effect on ozone layer has reduced to 14percent.

Even though more than 127 million people are still living in areas that exceed quality standards, there are some areas that are far from ideal. Therefore, there is still concern over the issue of what quality of air is ideal for human consumption.

Consequently, the greatest impact of human activities on the environment is to support companies for greener technologies. It is important to start with wiser and better solutions to conserve the environment.

Noise pollution also causes heath and psychological effects to humans for instance increasing heart rate, decreased hearing ability and insomnia among others. Other conditions that occur due to air pollution are due to blood pressure and stress.

Consequences of impact of human activities on environmental degradation

Despite the fact that human activities cause a lot of harm on the environment, the earth can never be fully destroyed. The planet will and will always remain because its nature will change and adapt to prevailing conditions. As a result, it is essential for humans to understand and cope with the conditions in place.

There is need to have clean and sufficient water for consumption and agricultural activities.

Land is a critical land resource and due to shifting cultivation, land scale mining has been exploited.

Marine ecosystem has been damaged due to exploitation of the sea on large scale for instance catching fish using trawl nets and use of bombs.

Forest damage generally occurs because of human activity among others from felling trees and damage to forests hence affecting the environment.

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Sources

http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3400500127.html

http://emberhijau.blogspot.co.ke/2011/10/environmental-damage-due-to-human.html