Econ

Environmental Issues

and

the

Industrial Revolution

Argosy University

Ecology and Environmental Sustainability 201

Professor Smith

Febuary 27, 2015

The Industrial Revolution sparked innovations for mankind. These innovations lead to a population increase, innovations increased agricultural production, and innovations created factories. Britain lead the way in the early 18th century in the Industrial Revolution which eventually spread to the Americas. This urbanization due to the industrializations of nations caused significant damage to the environment in Europe and America (Withgott & Brennan 2008). Industrial Revolution has negatively impacted the environments soil, forestry, and water.

Advancement in technologies created a new wave of agricultural production. Man has been using working cattle such as oxen’s, mules, donkeys, and horses to cultivate the cropland. Instead of using hundreds of workers, cattle was replaced to cultivate the land faster with large-scale mechanization. As population growth occurred demands for food supply increased. Agriculture increased with the help of massive irrigation systems was developed by taking water from rivers and lakes. Fertilizers came into use by nourishing the cropland to be more productive. Chemical pesticides were added to destroy pernicious plants such as weeds and herbivory by crop pests. Large amounts of land and materials was used to accommodate this massive population increase. As a result, due to the Industrial Revolution it led to degradation of the earth’s soil in several countries around the world. Also, overgrazing of rangeland added to the problem. Soil began to lose its fertility in millions of acres. To grow and sustain healthy agriculture the topsoil must consist of inorganic minerals, organic matter, and humus. Without the nutrient rich topsoil it will not be able to hold water and just erode with the wind and water (Withgott & Brennan, 2008).

Factories from the...