Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Human effects on your ecosystem
Essay on impact of human activities on earth
What is the effect of human activities on the environment
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Human effects on your ecosystem
Tylyn Washington
English 1101
Dr. Shannon Finck
11/16/15
After Earth without People The Anthropocene is an anticipated period that starts once human activities began to have a major global effect on Earth's systems. This period is what we are in, earth is it the Anthropocene. Many people believe that if humans continue with the same rash thought pattern and the negligent of earth, we will disappear from earth’s surface or be forced by nature to leave. In Earth without People by Alan Weisman and the 2013 film After Earth originated by Will Smith, both illustration how earth responses to human withdrawals. Both Earth without People and After Earth express similar thoughts about the Anthropocene and it’s for coming. While Weisman gives a rather
…show more content…
We see our self as not a part of nature but above it. In this mind set we cannot image the world without us, such as Weisman and Smith. Weisman and Smith are similar because they both are able to look pass human pride and think on effect of human’s disregard for earth. Although Earth without People and After Earth follow the same guidelines they also share the same bases such as, effect on earths changes, earth turning back into wilderness, and animal evolvement after humans are gone. Despite the fact both Earth without People and After Earth have their differences in expression of earth after humans are gone, they share even more …show more content…
In the small scale example the 2.5 miles of land he describes becomes a utopia of nature. This part of the earth has turned into pockets of marsh and has become home to a new type of bird; the white red-crowed cranes. This piece of land, other than patrol and people trying to flee Korea, hasn’t been occupied since 1953 thus revealing that earth would not be the same without people. In just a few year this land has reverted back to a beautiful “peace park and nature preserve.” Weisman creates a courageous examination of earth without us. Much like Smith, Weisman sways the reader to think about how much we have changed the natural world. With subway tunneling, big buildings, even the way we live has had an effect on different species of insects and birds. Weisman tells us about this so we can picture how much damage we have done to the world and what we would leave behind as a
In my generation, I am able to catch what is relatively the tail end of this slow extinction. And to be quite honest, I had not devoted a moment of thought to this phenomenon until I read Leopold’s passages. In fact, I am always the first one to compliment a new highway project that saves me five minutes of driving or even a tidy farmstead as I pass. Now, more than ever, my thoughts are in limbo. It was just last week when my dad pointed out an area off the highway that displayed miles of slowly rolling cornfields. His reaction was to the beauty of the countryside. Mine was to question his. I found myself thinking about all of the hard work that created that beauty, and then how much more beautiful it was fifty, a hundred, or even two centuries ago. Only the mind’s eye can create this beauty now, and that is exactly why Leopold’s concerns are validated.
The global climate changes have brought devastating geographical changes over the last century. With unfunded solutions and internal political conflicts driven by pure ignorance, our species has begun digging its own grave. Roy Scranton, author of “Learning how to Die in the Anthropocene”, has already begun contemplating the inevitable. By incaptivating his readers with his detailed description of his military past; he draws a parallel to the future he describes as inescapable. Using descriptive logic and overwhelming emotion, Scranton successfully convinces that in order to live in the new age us humans have forged, we must learn how to die.
According to the World Bank’s report, climatologists predict greenhouse gases will cause temperatures to rise 7.2 degrees before the next century (par. 8). While the rise in temperature might seem trivial, Scranton elaborates on the detrimental effects this change would cause by quoting James Clapper. Mr. Clapper, the director of national intelligence, argues that extreme weather disasters will “increasingly disrupt food and energy markets, exacerbating state weakness, forcing human migrations, and triggering riots, civil disobedience, and vandalism” (par. 7). Dr. Scranton mentions these sources in order to convince the audience that an increase of only a few degrees can have a devastating impact that will inevitably leave the planet radically different during this epoch; the current epoch we live in, named the Anthropocene, is a term invented by geologist and scientists for the epoch that is “characterized by the arrival of the human species as a geological force” (par. 10). The name of the epoch inspired Scranton to title the article “Learning How to Die in the Anthropocene” since it reaffirms his claim that we must accept that the future will not be the same as the present. Furthermore, Scranton includes a book in his article written by geophysicist David Archer incase readers remain skeptical of the scientific evidence with
I believe that E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial is the best movie of all time and here is why. The film E.T. directed by Steven Spielberg, was nominated for nine Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. Not to mention E.T. superseded Star Wars: A New Hope as the highest-grossing film of all time in the United States. Also, this movie was filmed in chronological order so the emotion between the characters were real which resulted an emotional response from the audience. Finally, E.T. is a timeless film, any age or generation can enjoy it because of its universal
Human extinction may occur because of many reasons some may include because of how we take care of our planet and what lives on it. Another may be because of a disease or a fungus we may spread to one another and will not be able to gain control over it. Instead if we try to save what is left our species may go even further and we may be able to live longer. Our own comfortable lives and not really affected as they should be because most people do not care what is going on outside of their own lives. They should be more concerned because it does involve them, they are part of the human
In its place we are entering a period of consequences." According to the facts that were mentioned by Al Gore in the film, I believe we are already living in the period of consequences. He said “carbon dioxide have never gone above 300 PPM,” but according to NOAA most recent global monthly mean of CO2 in September 2015 was 397.08 PPM. Due to such climate change, most recently the world has experienced most severe natural disasters, even in places where normally such disasters are not expected and abnormal. Also, in the last quarter century 30 new diseases were emerged even deadly like Ebola. “We don 't have that luxury anymore. We didn 't ask for it, but here it is” (Al Gore). We don’t neither do animals. A scientific study shows that polar bears are drowning in the Arctic Ocean and that has never happened before. Due to swimming long distances, up to 60 miles, and without finding the ice that they depend on for resting, they
In the movie, The Human Experience, Abraham Maslow’s and James Fowler’s beliefs play a major role in describing the three experiences that the characters chose to live out. The characters Cliff, Jeff, Michael, and Matthew join each other on three different encounters to experience life in other people’s shoes. The encounters were homelessness, caring for physically and mentally handicapped children, and visited Ghanaians with HIV AIDS and leprosy. Each character learned lessons and were humbled immensely by their experiences.
Within the German Democratic Republic, there was a secret police force known as the Stasi, which was responsible for state surveillance, attempting to permeate every facet of life. Agents within and informants tied to the Stasi were both feared and hated, as there was no true semblance of privacy for most citizens. Directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, the movie The Lives of Others follows one particular Stasi agent as he carries out his mission to spy on a well-known writer and his lover. As the film progresses, the audience is able to see the moral transformation of Stasi Captain Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler primarily through the director 's use of the script, colors and lighting, and music.
In, The Fate of the Earth by, Jonathan Schell, he starts with the extinction of dinosaurs then moves onto how it’s not possible to judge on human extinction. He also talks about how the extinction of animals and how we have learned from our mistakes. He states how we live, then we die. And how different catastrophes could kill everyone or how they could slowly become extinct from those catastrophes. He mainly talks about population and how the extinction of human beings and once we are extinct we are done.
Once the author made his view clear, he goes on to display possible scenarios of how human existence can change within the next millennium. He proposed four possible scenarios. The first scenario that Nash discusses, the “wasteland scenario” depicts
Scranton believes that human beings are killing present life by ignoring the effects of global warming on the world. He continues to warn the reader that change is coming regardless of what people do now and that they human race must prepare for what is inevitably coming, as it will be the collapse of global civilization as it is known. Scranton states that this time we are living in, the anthropocene, presents humans with multiple challenges but mostly, “what it means to be human” (page 234). How to control the inevitable
Anthropocentrism has been a central belief upon which modern human society has been constructed. The current state of the world, particularly the aspects that are negative, are reflective of humans continuously acting in ways that are in the interest of our own species. As environmental issues have worsened in recent decades, a great number of environmentalists are turning away from anthropocentric viewpoints, and instead adopting more ecocentric philosophies. Although anthropocentrism seems to be decreasing in popularity due to a widespread shift in understanding the natural world, philosopher William Murdy puts forth the argument that anthropocentrism still has relevancy in the context of modern environmental thought. In the following essay, I will explain Murdy’s interpretation of anthropocentrism and why he believes it to be an acceptable point of
One of the main things emphasised is progression itself, as in how it can be acceptable to occur, but an excessive amount can be fatal. To demonstrate this sentiment, many examples of “progress traps” are mentioned. An example of one would be the perfection of hunting; hunters being able to obtain more than one source of meat is tolerable, but killing an entire herd is a trap. Many of these traps are in relation to the human race’s movement towards expansion which in turn leads to civilization. Sadly, people are sent back to the beginning as they are too rash and do not think about the consequences. He illustrates this fact with the incident involving Easter Island and its trees. The people were too concerned with making statues and forgot about the environment and what it has to offer. Protecting the environment and preserving it is a huge issue and a lesson people need to take from the
In Dipesh Chakrabarty’s essay, “The Climate of History: Four Theses,” he begins with “…the proposition that anthropogenic explanations of climate change spell the collapse of the age-old humanist distinction between natural history and human history.” With this initial statement, Chakrabarty declares that the advent of manmade climate change in the anthropocene, humans can no longer be considered separately from nature as they had been previously segregated by Enlightenment and western thinking. In other words, “humanism,” or human-centered thinking is neither relevant nor reasonable in the face of global climate change. According to Chakrabarty, since human and natural history are both intrinsically tied together, the fate of mankind is now
Anthropocentrism is the school of thought that human beings are the single most significant entity in the universe. As a result, the philosophies of those with this belief reflect the prioritization of human objectives over the well-being of one’s environment. However, this is not to say that anthropocentric views neglect to recognize the importance of preserving the Earth. In fact, it is often in the best interests of humans to make concerted efforts towards sustaining the environment. Even from a purely anthropocentric point of view, there are three main reasons why mankind has a moral duty to protect the natural world.