How The Extraction Process Of Nonrenewable Resources Can Impact The Environment

Pollution can cause changes in the planet’s energy balance, such as changes in the greenhouse effect, which affects the amount of heat retained by Earth’s atmosphere, variations in the sun’s energy reaching Earth changes in the reflectivity of Earth’s atmosphere and surface. The changes have changed the climate many times which have an effect on humans also. (NRC EPA. 2010) Our planet can is good at reusing waste but humans are producing more than what the Earth can handle. Pollution happened at different stages and it has an impact on all living things including species and humans. Unfortunately, humans are the most polluting species.

Other pollution sources include chemical plants, coal-fired power stations, oil refineries, nuclear waste disposal activity, large animal farms, plastic factories, and metal production factories. The soil becomes contaminated by many chemicals and pathogens; this passes on to humans through direct contact via food and water. Overuse of pesticides and chemical fertilizers causes toxins to enter the food chain.

When it comes to nature, trees, rivers, the sky, air pollution also affect the environment. Air pollution can harm the ecosystem. “Nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide cause eutrophication and acidification of lakes and streams, damaging ecosystems” (Melamed et al, 2016). This can harm the environment and contribute to the human health problems. We drink water, and water plants with water. Even more particulate matter interact with cloud formation processes and may impact the amount and location of precipitation (Melamed et al, 2016). This is the reason of flooding and water problems.

Repercussions of burning oil have arisen more progressively. The debatable topic of global warming holds burning fossil fuels responsible for higher temperatures in colder climates. An article by World Book explains why oil is so harmful towards the environment. As more cars are produced more pollutants are released into the atmosphere, those pollutants cause smog in larger manufacturing oriented cities as well as, acid rain. Factories, burning oil, dispose of the remaining chemicals into bodies of water rendering them unsafe to drink for both humans and animals alike (Hunt par. 1). Another article produced through World Book describes the

Consumers increasingly consider the social impact of the money they spend. Some will pay more to support retailers who assert sustainable practices, for instance, by buying products made with recycled material. Others avoid companies notorious for irresponsible or unethical practices, such as outsourcing manufacturing to exploitative sweatshops in under-developed countries. More than ever, retail store owners must consider the ethical and social ramifications of their actions, as well as the actions of their suppliers (Mack, n.d.).

First, at the level of the production process, health is affected either directly in terms of industrial diseases and injuries, stress-related ill health, or indirectly through the wider effects of the process of commodity production within modern societies. The production processes cause environmental pollution, whilst the process of consuming the supplies have long-term health consequences such as eating processed foods, chemical additives, car accidents and so on.

Today we rely on a majority of fossil fuels with a small percentage of solar or wind energy generation to power our comfortable living. With fossil fuels being our primary source of energy, we are releasing things such as lead into the atmosphere to be inhaled; coal has to be mined causing deforestation and additionally causes water contamination from mining water runoff, the same to be said with fracking.

The mining crude oil and the associated processes have led to negative impacts on the environment by:

Transportation by fuel-guzzling land, water, and air vehicles is rapidly depleting the fossil fuels, and causing air pollution. The flow from industries, fertilizer run off, and oil spills all hurt delicate ecosystems. Removing trees and other plants to grow places of civilization causes loss and treats the survival of many species of animals and plants. There are many negative impacts along with population explosion. Using chemical fertilizers, insecticides,

The Federal Surface Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (FSCRA) attempted to shift some of the responsibility for environmental consequences to the private contractors who rely on mining for privatized profit (Menzel 1981 et al. Chan 2017). Notably, the FSCRA did not attempt to mitigate environmental degradation derived from oil drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Whereas, oil drilling and hydraulic fracturing tend to fall underlies stringent regulations, but NEPA still applies to these processes. The consequences of oil drilling and hydraulic fracturing “include deforestation, ecosystem destruction, chemical contamination of land and water, long-term harm to animal populations (particularly migratory birds and marine mammals)” (O’Rourke 2003, 594). In addition, hydraulic fracturing require an extractive fluid which often entails the usage of chemicals that are “either carcinogenic or associated with numerous health problems affecting the eyes, skin, lungs, intestines, liver, brain, and nervous system” (Kargbo 2010, 5681). For example, in New York it has been confirmed that “formaldehyde, pesticides, acids, and numerous other hazardous materials” have been found in “hydrofracture fluids” (Kargbo 2010, 5681). The extraction of coal, oil, and natural gas degrades the environment and has the most detrimental impacts locally.

Increasingly globalized distribution systems present obstacles to promoting sustainability and justice in the distribution of goods. It is harder to track the location and conditions under which products are made and harder to hold decision makers accountable along the way.

The destruction of forests can be extremely detrimental to plant life and animal habitats. The acceleration of global warming is one byproduct of eliminating forestry. The production of paper can also lead to adverse effects in our water supply. Large amounts of water are used in paper production, which leads to the lowering of water levels that threaten the fish population. Gases (such as those formed by Greenhouses) are emitted into the atmosphere everyday due to the huge consumption of oil and electricity. A poisonous chemical, such as chlorine, used in the bleaching process is added to help whiten paper and is released into our environment (e.g., Hoekstra et al., 2010. p.247).

Secondly, the lack of preservation of the environment is leading to different kinds of pollution. One type of pollution that is happening is air pollution. Air pollution is pollution to the atmosphere caused by factories and industries, humans using transportation that burn fossil fuels, and other factors that can change the atmosphere’s chemical composition (Air). Air pollution can seriously harm many people and can cause them to have problems that range from irritated eyes and nose to cancer (Gray). Another kind of pollution that humans are causing is water pollution. Humans pollute the water

Since the Industrial Revolution, natural resources have been under increasing pressure. The significant changes in the amount of natural resources we have left have led to many issues, such as global public health and global development. Other areas affected include the loss of forest, water and air pollution, decrease in fresh water supply and degradation of soil. Today we are currently seeing dramatic increases in global population. As the world’s population continues to rise, natural resources will continue to dwindle as long as we remain the same. The one thing that I would say is the most challenging for humans is being able to advance in life, but still not destroy the environment. If you look at most developed countries, it is evident that they consume resources way more rapidly than developing countries. The problem with this is that all of these countries are consuming faster than they can produce. Places like Africa and Asia are experiencing population momentum. These areas have a tendency for population growth that continues to grow because of the high concentration of people having kids. Better living conditions are definitely needed in these countries because of the limited amount of resources being consumed by these regions. The over exploitation of these resources will eventually lead to problems for future uses.

Mining Many of the planet's rainforests lie over rich mineral deposits. The mining process releases harmful toxins, like mercury and cyanide which are often used in the gold extraction process, into local streams and river, polluting both the waters and the surrounding lands. There is, however, good money in the mining industry and many residents are encouraged to work in the mines.