Human Environmental Impacts

Luckily, humans have put in efforts to understand and sometimes reverse the damage done. Wilcove describes ecosystem restoration, where usually humans put concentrated effort into recreating original habitats to restore indigenous populations. This is, unless “a very different assemblage of species has taken hold of the land and cannot be dislodged,” also known as a new “steady state” (Wilcove, 2000, p. 12). Wilcove himself joined the effort by studying the impacts humans have caused on woodland critters. He surveyed an area in Maryland to detect predators by setting cardboard coated in masonry powder to record footprints. He concluded that there were “six predators: opossum, raccoon, striped skunk, dog, cat, and blue jay. All are animals that benefit mightily from their association with people”(Wilcove, 2000, p. 42). He also mentions how extensive data can only be collected when looking at the observations of many people over the generations. He talks about “generational blindness,” which means how observers of a current generation cannot make conclusions on populations without the help of data collected from the past (Wilcove, 2000, p. 13).

In contrast to the upheaval of animals in a development area, humans also make efforts to preserve biodiversity and forests by creating wild life

The conquering and development of natural land has in the past, been seen as a mark of human civilization. In the United States, our progress is often measured by growth and development, but should this be re-examined? There are many opinions on the subject of urban sprawl and its effects on wildlife, but one thing is for certain, we are expanding. From 1955 to 2005, urban and suburban areas grew by 300%, however, the population only increased by 75% over the same period (Ewing, Kostyack and Chen). According to NatureServe, a non-profit conservation organization, urban sprawl threatens one of every three endangered species in the United States. NatureServe’s analysis states, “rare and endangered species data shows that three-fifths (60

Overpopulation, pollution, global warming, climate change, genetic modification, ocean acidification, water/soil pollution, deforestation, acid rain, and ozone depletion are among some of the main factors that have a negative impact on the planet. Overpopulation is one the most concerning environmental issues currently. Overpopulation is defined as the human population of a specific area exceeding the carrying capacity. Overpopulation can occur from an increase in births mainly or a decline in deaths. Also, other factors that affect overpopulation can be an increase in immigration or a depletion of resources. It was stated by the United Nations that the worth has a total carrying capacity of somewhere between 4 and 16 billion. Currently we hold over 7 billion humans on Earth. As of 2017 the UN has increased their population predictions to 9.8 billion by 2050 and up to 15 billion by 2100. Pollution we hear about every day.

The article discussed the changes in many habitats due to anthropogenic activity. Anthropogenic is an adjective that describes changes in nature due to the people. Next, this article discussed climate change and the impact that it is having on species like clams, and fish due to ocean temperatures rising. The article also addressed carbon dating of fossils to look for cause of extinctions. Human development and agriculture have had a tremendous impact on the population of many species that are terrestrial. Deforestation is a big problem that has caused a decline in the bird species. Commercial fishing in many areas has led to a decline in fish populations. Furthermore this article

Forests have been cut, crops planted, pastures seeded, and urban areas paved. One of the most troubling consequences of human modification of ecosystems is an ongoing loss of species and therefore a loss of biodiversity around the world. The current extinctions have a human cause: habitat loss (such as clearing of tropical rainforests); the introduction of invasive species; unregulated hunting and fishing; and pollution of water, air, and

Visit Land Use in Pinchot Lab (accessible through the Labs section of Contemporary Environmental Issues) and complete the virtual lab. In this lab you will apply the scientific method to examine how thresholds of land use changes such as deforestation and urban sprawl can impact communities, predator/prey relationships, species diversity, and quality of life in human communities.

People can especially influence biodiversity in the IRL in a negative way. There can be a major loss of habitat from development on the shoreline, like resorts and hotels (“The Indian River Lagoon,” n.d.). Due to the lagoon’s shallowness, it can become overcrowded very quickly. It it’s too overcrowded, the nutrients in the water will suffer and there will be too many particles. Humans are disrupting the growth of the many species in the IRL, and they are preventing them from reaching their full potential. There must be a variety of animals and plants for there to be biodiversity, and people are seizing both land and water that should be used as habitats for the animals in the

Humans do things like: Overhunting, deforestation, pollution and land conservation, destroying the environment for food, materials and research etc. This destroys habitats for certain creatures affecting the whole ecosystem, possibly killing the organisms in the ecosystem.

It is commonly acknowledged that, in a biological ecosystem all species are closely affected each other through a food chain. However, what people don’t really recognize is how hugely one species can affect the entire ecosystem. The reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone National Park depicts a vivid example how one predator can contribute to the recovery of biodiversity and its astonishing impact on physical geography.

As we lose more and more habitats, it could create a domino effect causing many other complications in the world's ecosystem.

This is evident with suburban sprawl. When you look out the window of an airplane, you’re likely to see vast tracks of low-density communities. The landscape is dominated and characterized by cookie cutter single-family homes and cul-de-sacs. What a lot of people fail to understand is that this method is destroying large swaths of ecosystems and there is an omnipresent threat to biodiversity. Each year, millions upon millions of acres of various forms of open space, from farmlands to forests to marshes, are destroyed at an accelerating pace. It is a relentless and chronic threat to Earth’s biodiversity. This is only one aspect of a plethora of ways that overconsumption effects the planet. We have been persistent in our unsustainable overconsumption for generations and this ideology is spreading to the developing world as the idealistic dogma of the American dream is perpetuated via the ‘leap-frog’ approach to

Since the Industrial Revolution we have practiced deforestation, burned fossil fuels, and as a result we have disrupted stable ecosystems. Advances in medicine and technology have given humans the ability to increase their carrying capacity. While increasing our carrying capacity we have also decreased biodiversity around the world. We have introduced different species in new environments to help ourselves

The main cause of the loss of biodiversity can be attributed to the influence of human beings on the world's ecosystem

to be grown trees have to be cut down and I have explained the effects