Destruction of the environment by humans

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INSTITUTIONAL AFFILIATION(S)
AS406/ INDEPENDENT
STUDY

ESSAY 1
Destruction of the environment by humans
Introduction
Since past 10,000 years, earth's environment is facing severe destruction and human
activities have led to the generation of various issues like environmental changes, global
warming, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions along with many others (Chen, 2015).
Although the earth's atmosphere used to be stabilized once, since the past millions of years,
the climate has shown constant fluctuations and degradation. It can also be noted that earth
has the tolerant towards the extinction of few species and chemicals produced are useful for
human development, but then, any unexpected event can result in severe destructions. Human
activities have led to the destruction of the environment. Although few people argue that
earth’s destruction itself is a part of natural phenomenon, opponents believe that human
destructions have increased natural disasters and impacted earth’s atmosphere severely
(Knap & Rusyn, 2016, p. 2). This has further made humans face catastrophes such as
increased earthquakes, tropical cyclones and wildfires among various others.
Climatic change has been witnessed by the earth's atmosphere at an increasing level.
Earth's environment is subject to manmade pollution that majorly includes land, air and water
which causes or can prove destructive for the well-being of humans, plants and animals.
Steffen, et al. (2015) posits that the natural resources exploited by humans damage the natural
environment harshly. For instance, humans extracting fossil fuel leads to the release of black
carbon impacting environment. More than 350 parts per million (ppm) of carbon dioxide can
be found in the earth's atmosphere which have led to deforestation. A study made by Oladipo
(2015) finds that deforestation in many countries has resulted in disintegration and crumbling
of forest area which has made forest habitat and vegetation vulnerable to global extinction.

ESSAY 2
However, Kakaki (2013) argues that climatic change occurs due to natural causes such as
seasonal drifts, solar output and volcanic eruptions like Krakatoa in 1883 and Mount
Tambora in 1815 that emitted a large amount of ash, blocking sun rays from entering earth's
atmosphere for several years (p.75). This reduced earth's temperature by 0.5 degree Celsius.
But then, it can be noted that natural disruptions are temporary and subside with time but
greenhouse gas emissions due to human activities remain constant. It not only affects solar
radiation but impacts outgoing infrared radiations too.
Human activities have led to the extinction of few species. This is because many
chemicals released from manufacturing plants and fertilizers act as a toxic chemical mix for
plants and animals. Since most of the chemicals and fertilizers contain a huge amount of
phosphorous and nitrogen, it contaminates both land and water thereby making it difficult for
biodiversity to survive (Madaan, n.d.). A study made by Chen (2015) finds that species of
the earth are getting extinct 100 times faster now as compared to history and humans can be
made responsible for making sixth greatest extinction in half a billion years. “Human beings
are the major source for degradation of biodiversity” ( Shende, Janbandhu, & Patil,
2015, p. 26). The human-induced climate had made biodiversity fall under critical threat.
The loss that can be observed due to it can prove very hazardous for humanity as a whole. If
people keep losing biodiversity, the upcoming generations may have to face disasters, thirst
and hunger. Contrastingly, Steffen, et al. (2015) argues that earth can tolerate extinction of a
few species although the level to which it can tolerate is still unknown. Research suggests
that plants and animals extinction occurring due to climate change is widespread, however,
the level at which climate change can be made responsible seems to be modest in next 100
years (Wiens, 2016, p. 2). But then, it must also be noted that the extinction of species can
considerably increase in upcoming years as global warming increases by 2 to 5-fold over the
next few decades.