Human Impact on the Environment

• The human impact on the environment encompasses activities causing both positive and negative changes to Earth's ecosystem.
• An ecosystem includes living and nonliving organisms and environments.

IPBES Report

• In 2019, IPBES reported that 1 million species are at risk of extinction due to human activity.
• The Royal Botanic Gardens found that 22% of 380,000 plant species are endangered.
• Land-based species decreased by 25%, marine species by 28%, and freshwater species by 29% due to human activities.
• The greatest threat to biodiversity is human alteration of habitats.

Human Activities Affecting the Environment

• Agriculture has a major negative environmental impact.
• Other impactful activities include construction, oil spills, mass ocean fishing, and fossil fuel use.

Agriculture

• Approximately 38% of global land has been converted for agricultural use.
• The use of herbicides and pesticides damages the local ecosystem and the global water table.
• Increasing crop yield from less land and water can reduce energy consumption and land usage.
• Incorporating green spaces into urban environments can restore lost green space.
• Wild pollinators can reduce the need for harmful herbicides and pesticides.

Construction

• Building cities and dams prevents water from re-entering the local water system.
• Dam construction negatively transforms aquatic environments.
• An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is required by most governments to assess precautions for projects impacting the environment.

Negative Human Impact

• Caused by ignorance toward the negative human impacts caused by agriculture and an expanding human footprint.
• Human activities contribute to global warming, deforestation, pollution, rising sea levels, and over-harvesting.

Global Warming

• Earth's atmosphere contains greenhouse gases that trap heat and stabilize the Earth's temperature.
• Since 1975, the global average temperature has increased by 0.2 degrees Celsius per decade due to fossil fuel use.
• Rising temperatures can cause radical climate changes, including forest loss, droughts, intense storms, and species extinctions.

Deforestation

• Deforestation contributes to global warming.
• Plants use CO2 to create energy and oxygen through photosynthesis.
• Land erosion from deforestation causes water pollution and displaces wildlife.
• Wildfires destroy forest systems, which take centuries to regrow.
• Planting and reforestation efforts can counter deforestation effects.

Pollution

• Increased production results in more trash and landfills.
• Agricultural chemicals pollute waterways and the global water table.
• Oil spills cause significant harm to oceans.
• There is increased use of sustainable and biodegradable products.
• The United States has reduced industrial and chemical pollution from known sources in the past 30 years.

Overpopulation

• The human population was 7.8 billion in 2020 and will increase by approximately 27% by 2050, to a total of 9.9 billion people.
• Agriculture and the industrial revolution have changed Earth's biosphere dramatically.

Over-harvesting

• UNEP estimates that 70% of known fish species have been over-harvested or depleted.
• Over-harvesting impacts marine and land ecosystems.
• Stronger legal consequences and improved surveillance are needed to combat illegal over-fishing.

Positive Human Impact

• Enforcing stricter policies and boundaries to protect natural habitats such as global movement so save the trees, state and national forests and parks
• Requiring green space in new urban construction.
• The World Economic Forum promotes sustainable agricultural techniques that require less land and energy.
• Communities and state governments are enforcing recycling systems.

Forest Regrowth

• Businesses are planting trees with purchases.
• Awareness through social media and documentaries promotes plant-based diets and sustainable living.

Human activities significantly impact the environment, leading to both positive and negative changes. Agriculture, construction, and fossil fuel use are major contributors to environmental degradation, threatening biodiversity and ecosystems. The IPBES report highlights the risk of extinction for 1 million species due to human actions.