How Do Humans Affect The Environment

How do humans affect the environment?
The condition of today’s environment has been affected by many factors, some of
which are positive, which benefit the environment, while other effects on the
environment are negative meaning they damage or cause harm to the
environment. One factor, which affects the environment, is humans. The negative
ways, which we affect the environment are, through building, farming, pollution,
and quarrying. However, there are some positive effects on the environment
caused by humans such as, the conservation of endangered species, protection
of the o-zone layer, and the conservation of the earths resources.
This essay therefore will be set out into two main parts. The first of these two
parts will discuss how humans have a negative effect on the environment; this
will focus on the issue of pollution. Secondly, I will discuss the positive effects,
which we have on the environment; this section of the essay will discuss
conservation and the protection of the ozone layer. I will then conclude this essay
by giving my personal view on how humans affect the environment and whether
the overall effect is negative or positive.
As, mentioned above there are many negative ways in which we as humans
negatively affect the environment. One-way which we harm the environment is
through our polluting. Polluting is a very important issue when discussing the
environment and factors, which affect it. One form of pollution, which affects the
environment, is air pollution.
Air pollution involves the air being polluted by gases, dust and smoke from
vehicles and industry. This type of pollution causes many problems such as a
variety of lung diseases including cancer, bronchitis and emphysema, all of which
can be lethal to both animals and humans alike. Some pollutants, which cause
these diseases, are lead compounds, hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide, which
are all released by vehicle engines. Nitrogen oxides are also a cause of lung
disease; but also cause acid rain, which leads to soil erosion, and damages plant
and tree roots causing many to die. The acid rain has a similar effect on the fish,
which can also die because of the rain. Other pollutants such as sulphur dioxide,
one of the fatal gases, are released through the combustion of fuels, and from
factories.
A major issue of air pollution is its affect on the ozone layer. CFC’s or
Chlorofluorohydrocarbons released from aerosol spray cans and car engines,
and nitrogen monoxide (NO), which comes from the exhausts of some flight craft
such as Concorde’s. Both of these gases react with ozone (O3), and are oxidised
as a result. The chemical equations for the reaction of CFC and Ozone is as
follows:
Ozone + CFC → Oxygen + Oxidation products
The chemical equation for the reaction, which occurs between nitrogen monoxide
and Ozone, is:
Ozone + Nitrogen monoxide → Oxygen + Nitrogen dioxide
O3 (g) + NO (g) → O2(g) + NO2(g)
These reactions have caused the Ozone layer to begin to become thinner. This is
a bad thing because in some areas people will be left exposed to the harmful UV
rays, from which the Ozone layer would usually protect us. This in turn puts
people at risk of skin cancer and damages the plants and other living organisms.
Another form of pollution is water pollution. Water pollution means that water
is polluted by wastes from factories, oil and the run off of surplus agrochemicals
from the land. This type of pollution causes much damage to the environment;
many businesses are located on riverbanks meaning that they discharge their
waste into rivers. This has caused many of Britain’s largest rivers to become too
dirty to keep fish alive. An example of this is in Mersey, where in the 1930s
fishermen could make a living. However, now it is too foul to keep fish meaning
fishermen can no longer earn a living in the area; this was caused by the
dumping of waste by industries in the estuaries.
Thermal pollution is another type of water pollution. This is when power
stations use the water from rivers for cooling and return the water at a higher
temperature. When the temperature raises too much the biological oxygen
demand increases. In other words, the organisms in the water require more
oxygen. This can cause many problems such as the death of fish that cannot get
the required amount of oxygen in time.
A very serious type of water pollution is pollution by agriculture. This
involves the use of pesticides and fertilisers. When farmers use fertilisers, there
is often excess fertiliser, which is not absorbed by the plants. This is washed into
the lake, therefore providing the plants in the lake with an extra supply of nitrates
and phosphates, meaning there is a mass production of algae in the lake, or an
algae bloom. This means, that the natural cycle of the lake is disrupted, the mass
algae in the lake soon dies, and is fed upon by bacteria. The high bacterial
activity means that much of the dissolved oxygen is consumed causing many of
the fish to die from lack of oxygen. This type of water pollution, involving the
accidental fertilisation of lakes and rivers is known as eutrophication.
There are certain harmful pesticides, which are also washed into the river.
These are sometimes referred to as the ‘drins’, dieldrin, endrin, and aldrin. These
can cause many problems such as liver cancer at high levels, and because they
are not excreted by fish, they can build up to 6000 times the level in the water.
As I stated above, not all human effects on the environment are negative, in
fact, many are positive. The main way, which we have a positive affect on the
environment is through conservation. Conservation means saving or conserving
something. One thing, which we try to conserve for the benefit of the
environment, is the use of non-renewable energy resources. By doing so we
reduce the pollution usually caused by factories, by using wind turbines, which
cause no pollution at all. By reducing use of non-renewable energy sources, such
as fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas), we are reducing the amount of dangerous
gases, polluting the air.

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