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Essay on Human Impact on the Environment

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Human Impact on the Environment

About three hundred years ago there was a definite spurt in the population of the human race. This was brought about with advancements in sanitation and technology, as well as a dramatic fall in the death rate. By around 1850 the world's population had grown to about 1 billion and by 1930 it had risen to 2 billion. The current figure is around 6 billion and at this rate the United Nations estimates the population will be at about 9 billion by 2054. This would be a 900% increase in just 200 years.

This increase in population has meant that the world's resources have been put under a great strain in order to sustain the human race. But it has only been in recent …show more content…

The culture of many forest-peoples has been destroyed and deforestation also affects the livelihoods of between 200 and 500 million people, who depend on the rainforest for their shelter and food. Deforestation may also lead to global climate imbalances. There is also a major problem when it comes to carbon storage. With the removal of the trees excessive carbon dioxide levels in the environment may lead to global warming, with many problematic side effects. While deforestation is now viewed as problem, historically it was considered to assist natural development and so now some countries rely on the rainforest for income and the problem will continue whilst they have no alternative.

Another problem caused by humans is as a result of the increase in demand for extensive farming throughout the world. In order for crops to be grown trees have to be cut down and I have explained the effects of this already. As well as deforestation, agriculture has also called for the use of fertilisers and pesticides. Fertilisers (and raw sewage) cause eutrophication. Eutrophication occurs when farmers are forced to increase the productivity of their crops and so use fertilisers. These fertilisers run off the land into the waterways and increase the levels of nitrates and phosphates in the water. In turn this increases

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