How Humans Impact the Ecosystem

Humans play an extensive role when it comes to the sustainability of the environment, our actions now can have repercussions in the future. Learning how humans leave their footprint on the environment will help us to become more conscious of our actions and how they manipulate the world around us. Humans sway the precarious balance of the environment; the ramifications of tipping the scales will be felt by generations to come. Discovering what your ecological footprint is and how your actions effect the environment is a good place to start if you are concerned about ecological sustainability.

Ecological Footprint

An Ecological footprint is the measure of human demand on Earth’s ecosystem. “Think of a terrarium: How big would the glass need to be so the city underneath could sustain its self exclusively on the ecosystem contained (Wackernagel, 2006)?” Humans have a continuous material dependence on nature. We rely on the ecosystem to feed us, give us the air we need to breathe, absorb our wastes and maintain general life support. “If everybody lived like North Americans it would take at least two additional planet Earths to provide for our needs (Wackernagel, 2006).”

Humans have adapted and changed their surroundings to survive and to make life more comfortable and convenient. There are many ways in which humans have adapted their surroundings. “Since the Industrial Revolution in the 1700’s, human activities, such as the burning of oil, coal and gas, and deforestation, has increased carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere. In 2005, global atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide were 35% higher than they were before the Industrial Revolution” (Carbon Dioxide, 2011).

How Agriculture Plays a Part

Believe i...

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...aware of what types of fertilizers they are using. Alternative components need to be found to replace the current constituents used for fertilizers and energy. If action is not taken now, if substitutes are not used, the ecosystem will continue its downfall. What types of quandaries are being left for future generations? A transformation is necessary to the survival of the earth and its inhabitants. Don’t write off the ecosystem for the next generation to restore.

Works Cited

Carbon Dioxide. (2011, April 15). Retrieved October 28, 2011, from Climate Change- Greenhouse Gas Emissions: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/co2.html

Wackernagel, W. R. (2006). Our Ecological Footprint- Reducing Human Impat on the Earth. new Society Publishers.

Wright, D. F. (2011). Environmental Science Toward a Sustainabe Future. San Fransisco: Pearson Education, Inc.