Human influence on the environment

• How do humans affect the environment

  Humans have a massive influence over the environment, sadly almost entirely negative. We use a lot of energy, we produce a lot of waste, we pollute the planet, we take up a lot of space and encroach on many animals and plants habitats.
• World Population growth

  As the population of the world increases, so it needs more room, encroaching at an increasing rate on the habitat and environment of all other living things.Increasing population means the increased use of resources and increased production of waste.
• Waste of electricals


  Landfill sites are also a hot bed of bacteria and disease which can be picked up by local wildlife and indeed in poorer countries by the people who are forced to make a living by scavenging through them. Landfills are also full of poisonous chemicals that can leech into the surrounding land and water ways, killing flora and fauna.Composting: This method can be used to dispose of biodegradable waste. That is waste that will naturally rot down over a few years turning into compost, which once treated to destroy any pathogens, can be used on farms or in your own garden. Once again, a lot of local councils now offer people composting bins so that they can deal with their own waste.Incinerating: The image that instantly springs to mind with an incinerator is one of burning rubbish, throwing great plumes of black smoke into the air and creating an awful smell but in fact modern incineration units are highly efficient. The heat they produce is used to create electricity and their emissions are monitored at all times.
• Water pollution


  Sewage, toxic waste from industry and fertilisers from farming, can all play havoc with the ecological balance of our waterways, lakes and oceans. In the past, when our population was much smaller, our effect on our waterways was minimal and most sewage went straight into our rivers without too much problem.
• Land pollution


  As we discussed before, a lot of our waste ends up in landfill sites around the country, where the poisonous chemicals and dangerous micro-organisms, can leech into the soil, polluting the local area and killing the surrounding flora and fauna.
• Air pollution


  Since the industrial revolution, the amount of smoke and gasses the human race has produced has increased exponentially. With the internal combustion engine, we now pump millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases into the air each year.We constantly increase the amount of methane and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
• Deforestation of the rainforset

  The problems with the deforestation of rainforest areas is widely talked about. The loss of such a massive global resource could have devastating consequences for the whole planet. Not only are rainforests a vital source of oxygen for the planet but they also play a vital part in taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, essentially recycling this greenhouse gas into organic compounds that the trees use for growth and repair.
• Global warming


  Carbon dioxide, methane, water vapour, nitrous oxides and CFC's are all gases that we refer to as greenhouse gases (along with many others). This is because they form a layer high up in the atmosphere that allows the heat from the sun in, but does not allow the same heat to escape again. Instead, it reflects the heat back onto the planet causing the world to warm up.