Human Impact

Compared to all other living things, the human population has long had the greatest impact on Earth’s ecosystems. Whether living in large or small numbers the human population’s need of resources is great. Humans use resources that other organisms do not and as the population grows, so does our need for natural resources, housing, and development. For instance, people drill deep into the earth in order to supply the demand for petroleum to make fuels, plastics, and many other products.

Human activities change the ecosystem so much that it disrupts the natural balance. Animals once living and thriving in a particular ecosystem may no longer be able to survive as a result of the limited resources humans leave them with. Human activities always have consequences for biotic and abiotic parts of the ecosystem. Because the consequences of human actions cannot always be accurately predicted the health of the ecosystem will always be in question. Sadly, many times people do not even think about the consequences in the first place. Humans have destroyed almost half of the forests as a result of overpopulation.

The urban sprawl is rapidly increasing while depleting resources and destroying many ecosystems in its process. All natural resources are threatened as human activities produce large amounts of pollution. Many crops are treated with pesticides that can contaminate groundwater supply and kill important insects that the plants rely on for pollination or that other animals depend on for food. Manufacturing plants produce toxic waste and air pollution, as well as dump large amounts of waste into landfills. Some of the most commonly done activities-- like driving a car emit air pollution that are considered to be the main cause of global warming.

http://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/climate-and-ecosystems-evaluate-human-impact

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