Human Impacts on the Environment pdf

Human Impacts on the
Environment
Name
Institution

Scope of the Presentation
The presentation will focus on;
 the different human activities that have both
direct and indirect effects on the environment
Pollution, deforestation, ozone depletion,
overpopulation, etc.
Recommendations
Conclusion

Introduction
Humans have conquered the environment and are
interacting with it in several different ways. i.e.
New problems such as climatic change,
population change, pollution, deforestation and
rapid urbanization make it difficult to design a
sustainable living environment.
And to deal with the problem of environmental
degradation and social issues, a new policy of
cause and effect has to be put in place to assist
with decision making for the government and
each and every one of its citizens.

Pollution
These include;
Air pollution- particulate matter, PAHs, lead,
ground-level ozone, heavy metals, sulphur
dioxide, benzene, carbon monoxide and
nitrogen dioxide (Bergstra, Brunekreef &
Burdorf 2018, p. 1).
Water pollution- industrial discharged
effluents, sewage water
Land or solid waste pollution- waste from
landmines, coal, and uranium mines.

Deforestation
Forests provide a natural resource for the ecosystem
in general. The direct causes of deforestation are.
 Expansion of farmland-
 to give more space for food production
 Timber production
Fires- clears large portions of forest for permanent
agriculture and shifting.
Other causes- mining, overgrazing, logging and fuel
wood, the role of the military or war and tourism

Cont.…
Impacts of deforestation include;
 loss of water sources
 flooding
 climate change
 loss of habitat
 reduced biodiversity
 socio-economic consequences (Marcus 2016)

Overpopulation
Marcus (2016) denote that the effects of
human overpopulation are numerous;
 Increase in air and water pollution; increased
human activities leads to pollution of both the
air and water
 Deforestation- increasing as forests are
cleared to give more space for farming and
human development

Depletion of the Ozone layer
The depletion of ozone layer have different impact on
living and non-living;
 effects on animal health- increased penetration of UV
rays causes eye disease, skin cancer and infectious
disease. (Ghose 2015, p. 10).
 Effects on aquatic ecologies- increase in UV radiation
affects the productivity of the seas and spread of
phytoplankton which forms the base of the food chain
 Effects on climate- increase the erosion of the
troposphere, added to the emission from the ground,
it, therefore, contributes to the greenhouse effect (Wu
& Polvani 2017, p. 6433).

Ecological effects of biodiversity
Biodiversity increases ecological stability.
Types include;
 Species diversity- number and abundance of
organisms in the environment
 Genetic diversity- focuses on the differences
in genes of organisms
 Ecological diversity- terrestrial and aquatic
ecosystems

Cont.…
Diversity has both direct and indirect effects
on the nature of interaction with human
activities
It creates a defined role of environmental
balance, an aspect that is necessary for the
laws of nature
Is negatively affected by human activities

Global Warming
is the rise of earth temperature over a long
period of time
Occurs as a result of increased emission of
green house gases like;
 Carbon dioxide
 Ammonia
 Sulfur dioxide

Challenges for environmental
management
there are a few challenges that affect
environmental management activities;
 ignorance among the citizens
 inadequate capital
 lack of government support
 Food security

Cont.…
The political settings define how people
should practice farming, use water, and plant
trees to prevent deforestation and further
destruction of the environment
The environmental management systems
largely depend on the political settings of a
nation (Chin 2017, p. 514).

The impact of political, economic, socio-cultural issues on the
environment
Generally, all human activities affect the
environment directly or indirectly.
It is the role of any government to preserve
the environment (Navrotsky 2013)
It sets laws and regulations for its citizens
concerning the environmental conservation
(Naude 2010, p 417).

Recommendations
Strategies to tackle the deforestation
problem cooperation and goodwill.
Successful installation of these strategies
demands;
 stakeholders involvement
 management plans and government
participation

Conclusion
The with the environment have both positive
and negative impacts on the environment
New problems such as climatic change,
population change, pollution, deforestation
and rapid urbanization make it difficult to
design a sustainable living environment
There is need to adopt policies that can
ensure the environment is safe

References
Chin, G. 2017. Warming stresses developing countries.
Science, 358(6370), pp.1551.2-1551.
Conn, DR 2015, 'Overdevelopment, Overpopulation,
Overshoot', Library Journal, 140, 5, p. 129
Marcus, M 2016, 'Connecting the Dots between Species
Extinction, Overpopulation, and the Use of
Resources', Torch, 89, 2, pp. 28-31
Naude, W. 2010. The Global Economic Crisis and Developing
Countries: Effects, Responses and Options for Sustainable
Recovery. Poverty & Public Policy, 2(2), pp.395-419.
Navrotsky, V. 2013. Effects of the World’s Oceans on Global
Climate Change. American Journal of Climate Change,
02(03), pp.183-190.