Environmental Science Report: Human Impact and Solutions

This research paper explores the significant impact of human activities on the environment, with a particular focus on two critical issues: global warming and ocean acidification. The introduction establishes the broad context of environmental degradation, including biodiversity loss and ecological collapse, highlighting the role of human overpopulation and societal needs. The report then delves into the specifics of global warming, explaining how increased CO2 levels, stemming from fossil fuel combustion and deforestation, are causing rising global temperatures, melting glaciers, and rising sea levels. The paper also examines ocean acidification, illustrating how the absorption of CO2 by oceans leads to decreased pH levels, threatening marine life, particularly organisms with calcium carbonate shells. The study then identifies the human causes behind these environmental problems, detailing the role of greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels and deforestation in global warming and ocean acidification. Finally, the paper proposes potential prevention mechanisms and adaptations, such as reducing energy consumption, promoting sustainable practices, and advocating for policy changes to mitigate these effects. References from various scientific journals are also provided.

Running head: HUMAN IMPACT ON ENVIRONMENT
Human impact on environment
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author Note

1HUMAN IMPACT ON ENVIRONMENT
Research paper outline:
Overview of the structure of the paper:
Introduction:
The human impact is there on the environment and on anthropogenic effect on surroundings.
This involves the changes to the natural resources, biodiversity, ecosystems and biophysical
environments. It results indirectly or directly from the side of human beings that involves the
environmental degradation like ocean acidification, global warming, biodiversity loss, ecological
collapse and mass extinction. The modification of the environment for fitting the society’s needs
results in severe impacts. This can be worse as the issue of human overpopulation is constantly
present. The following study identifies and demonstrates two important environmental problem and
explains how those human activities can contribute to them.
Two environmental effects due to the human activities:
Firstly, there is the global warming. It is arguably the popular reason of the effect to
environment. It is greatest reason that emanates across the levels of CO2 that extends from
respiration towards more detrimental reasons like burning of different fossil fuels along with
deforestation. The human beings are continuously raising the levels of CO2 at any rate. This is
happening every year. Here, the greatest level of carbon-dioxide is been seen to be in the recorded
history prior 1950 that was been approximately 3300 parts of every million (Dearden & Mitchell,
2016). Nonetheless, the present measurements of the CO2 levels are seen to raise beyond 400 PPM
and abolishing all the records that dates back 400,000 years. The rise of emissions of CO2 is seen to
contribute towards the average temperature raise about a whole degree. Thus, as that raises, the
arctic area glaciers and ices has resulted the levels of ocean to increases about 3.42 mm every year.

2HUMAN IMPACT ON ENVIRONMENT
This has been permitting the more water for absorbing much more amount of heat melting more
amount of ice. Thus it has been generating the positive loop of feedback causing oceans to increase
one to four feet till 2010 (Searle & Chen, 2020).
Next, the case of ocean acidification can be considered. It results as the CO2 gets dissolved
to the bonding of ocean with the sea water and generates the carbonic acid. This acid decreases pH
levels in water notably changing acidity of Ocean till 30% till the past 200 years. This is as per the
analysis the level that ocean is been at within more than twenty million years. This acidity has been
depleting concentrations of calcium. This makes that complicated for the crustaceans for developing
shell. This leaves them to be vulnerable despite any armor (Rogers & Jones, 2018). Moreover,
between global temperature increment of a single degree and acidification of ocean, the scientists
has been stating about quarter pat of every coral reefs has been harming that is beyond repair. Here,
two-third of that has been within serious level of threat. Further, the coral reefs has been the above of
twenty five percent of the aquatic life. Maximum of them are liable for natural filtration of ocean and
producing essential nutrients vital for life within sea (Armstrong & Kurek, 2019). Nonetheless, the
acidification has been not just the threats of water since other human activities are there resulting in
strong changes.
Ways human beings are responsible for the above instances and different prevention
mechanisms:
The global warming is because of the human beings due to various reasons. From 1850,
maximum of the prolonged warming could be evaluated with emission of greenhouse gas along with
additional human interferences. Since, the emissions of greenhouse gas has been warming the Earth,
it is expected that third more level of warming has occurred actually (Redmond, 2018). Moreover,
they has been offset through cooling coming from the atmospheric aerosols that are produced by

3HUMAN IMPACT ON ENVIRONMENT
human beings. Again, the aerosols have been projected to get decreased notably till 2010. This
brings the overall warming from every factors that are nearer towards warming coming from alone
the greenhouse gas. Apart from that the natural variability under the climate of the Earth has been
unlikely playing important role for prolonged warming.
Then there are human beings are responsible for two important origins for influx of the
atmospheric carbon dioxide. These are the deforestation and emissions of fossil fuel. Next, the
emissions of fossil fuels are gases spewed out of maximum cars, factories and power plants that are
seen to burn the fossil fuels like gas, oil or coal. Due to industrial revolution, the consumption of
fossil fuel has been rising in exponential manner for creating various issues that are related to
climate change that also includes the acidification of ocean (Baird, Plummer & Bodin, 2016). On the
other hand deforestation as the two fold problems. The burning down of the forests are same as
burning fossil fuels emitting lots of CO2 to atmosphere. The forests are vital due to huge expanses of
the plant life called as carbon sinks considering CO2 for undertaking photosynthesis (Saulnier‐
Talbot, Antoniades & Pienitz, 2020).
Regions at the North America and Canada could be witnessing rise in deadly waves of heat
and wildfires for global warming. There are probable adaptations that involves the delivery of
cooling centres. These are meant for one who never have air conditioning as the heat waves. Further,
government can also try to stop the subsidizing for the ones within areas that are wildfire-prone. For
ocean acidification, one can use less energy at their home. This can be done through assuring the
home is been insulated well. Besides, water must be conserved, and plastic addition can be reduced.
People should be flying and driving less, ride bikes, take the public transit ad carpool (Beniston,
2016).

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Conclusion:
It must be reminded, any sort of comprehensive cost-benefit assessment and moving beyond
the indicators of direct monetary are to be considered. Besides, considering the environment and
development concerns are helpful in prioritizing the policies of investment for environment and
development. For assuring the vital role of environment regarding development, it is essential that
environment problems are integrated under development agenda much better. Limiting risks of
climate change for sustainable development needs the emissions of global greenhouse to be reduced
significantly get decreased at the present century. Besides, promotion of sanitation and water supply
to become most influential direct measure can be adapted for human health development.

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References:
Armstrong, Z., & Kurek, J. (2019). Sensitivity and response of low-nutrient lakes to post twentieth
century environmental change in New Brunswick, Canada. Journal of paleolimnology, 61(1),
85-98.
Baird, J., Plummer, R., & Bodin, Ö. (2016). Collaborative governance for climate change adaptation
in Canada: experimenting with adaptive co-management. Regional Environmental Change,
16(3), 747-758.
Beniston, M. (2016). Environmental change in mountains and uplands. Routledge.
Dearden, P., & Mitchell, B. (2016). Environmental change and challenge: A Canadian perspective.
Redmond, L. E. (2018). Alpine limnology of the Rocky Mountains of Canada and the USA in the
context of environmental change. Environmental Reviews, 26(3), 231-238.
Rogers, P. J., & Jones, W. (2018). Applied landscape geochemistry and environmental change in
Nova Scotia, Canada.
Saulnier‐Talbot, É., Antoniades, D., & Pienitz, R. (2020). Hotspots of biotic compositional change in
lakes along vast latitudinal transects in northern Canada. Global Change Biology.
Searle, E. B., & Chen, H. Y. (2020). Complementarity effects are strengthened by competition
intensity and global environmental change in the central boreal forests of Canada. Ecology
letters, 23(1), 79-87.