Applied Science

Running head: APPLIED SCIENCE
Applied Science
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

1APPLIED SCIENCE
Task 1: Identification of a range of human activities that affect the earth’s surface and
atmosphere
Human Activities Ethical Implication Benefits Drawbacks Risks
Usage of Fossil
fuel
Since this activity is
imposing a severe
negative impact on
the earth, this
activity is unethical.
The chief reason
behind the usage
of fossil fuel by
humans is the
number of
facilities that are
obtained from it.
Some of the
benefits associated
with usage of
fossil fuels include
high efficiency and
availability of
coal, natural gas
and petroleum.
By burning
materials like fossil
fuels, humans have
added more than
400 billion tons of
Carbon dioxide
within the year
1870 to till date. In
the resent year, the
atmospheric level
of carbon dioxide is
a high as it was
800000 years ago
(Rhodes et al.
2015).
As
result of
excessive
carbon
emission, global
warming is
increasing along
with the risk of
misbalancing
the food chain
and oceanic
ecosystems.
Deforestation Due to its high
negative impact on
the environment,
deforestation is
highly unethical in
this era.
Deforestation is an
activity which
initiated in the
primitive age when
human being
started cutting
trees in order to
The most crucial
negative impact of
deforestation
includes lost of
habitat for a huge
number of species.
Other drawbacks of
According to
scientists,
deforestation is
one of the most
crucial reasons
behind global
warming

2APPLIED SCIENCE
clear space for
residential and
farming purposes.
Farmers practice
deforestation in
order to enhance
the room for
cultivation. Major
civilizations took
place after cutting
forests.
deforestation
include soil erosion.
Since trees are
considered to be
highly beneficial
for the atmosphere
due to their
capability to control
carbon emission
and maintain the
water cycle,
deforestation has
resulted in
enhancement of
carbon dioxide in
the atmosphere
(Glasson and
Therivel 2013).
(Rhodes et al.
2015).
Farming Farming is a
crucial human
activity that is
required to sustain
a livelihood. From
time immemorial
till now farming is
Some of the major
negative impacts of
farming include
loss of land
conservation and
habitat, soil
degradation, soil
The potential
environmental
risk associated
with farming
includes
infertility of the
soil and

3APPLIED SCIENCE
the only process
used by the human
beings to produce
the food required
or consumption.
erosion, climate
change and
pollution (Röös et
al. 2013).
earthquake.
Table 1: Human activities and their effects
Source (wwf.panda.org 2018)
Task 2: Identification of the natural factors that have changed the surface and atmosphere
of the earth
A huge change in the surface as well as the atmosphere of the earth can be evidenced due
to natural activities like an earthquake and volcanic eruption. A major earthquake like the
Tsunami in Asia and Japan in 2004 can bring about major dramatic change at the Earth’s
Surface. While ground movement can be considered as a major change, other surface changes
include mudflows, landslides and flow of groundwater. The earthquake has the capability to
cause significant damage to the building, bridges, railways, pipelines, embankments, dams and
other structures. Underwater earthquakes result in giant waves known as Tsunami (Wei et al.
2014). Violent shaking in the seafloor produces waves that get spread over the water surface and
form ever-widening circles. Tsunami hampers the life of a huge range of aquatic animals along
with human beings. The volcano is another natural activity that affects the earth’s surface and
atmosphere. Volcanic eruption includes releasing of lava or molten rock from the depth of the
earth. The gases and dust particle that are thrown into the atmosphere during a volcanic eruption
are not only poisonous to the living creatures on the earth’s surface but also impose a high
negative impact on the climate. Volcanoes have also contributed to global warming over millions