Preview

Humans Impact on their Surroundings

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1437 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Humans Impact on their Surroundings
Humans Impact on their Surroundings
SCI/275
January 25, 2014
Maria West

Humans Impact on their Surroundings
Human beings have inhabited the Earth for six or seven million years ("Natural History Museum", n.d.), but that is merely a fraction of the existence of this planet. Human beings have a penitence for gathering into groups and forming cities where industrial developments take place. The Industrial Revolution in America brought jobs and new products as well as technology. This is happening in other developing countries such as China and India today. Since our country has developed further into the digital age, our scientists have been able to observe the devastating effects that unregulated industry can have on the environment, and in turn, have on the people who dwell there. Now, there are many efforts in advancing our understanding and cohabitation with the natural world, and trying to reverse the damage that has been done.
Urbanization can bring about great innovations and advancements in technology, but it can also wreak havoc on the environment. Throughout history, this can be evidenced in multiple events. Populations put a strain on resources, forcing humans to build complex infrastructures and produce and move vast amounts of supplies. This created things such as the rail system in the United States which changed the face of the country, and eventually gave way to the vast networks of roads and highways. Cars and trucks create pollution and demand for more space, crude oil, and raw materials. Today, there are efforts to find alternate fuels such as biofuel or electric power for these vehicles (Chicago Transit Authority, 2014.)
The lack of regulation in the early days of industrialization created polluted in the air and water. These damages occurred as forests, and natural habitats that are cleared away for such expansion. This was because large amounts of natural resources need to use to support large

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The Industrial Revolution was one of the major contributors to deforestation, as railroads were built trees were cut for lumber. It also affected the environment, as the factory buildings polluted the air with chemicals and smoke; the most observable harm,…

    • 598 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Edward Abby

    • 1064 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Modern, industrialized society’s technological advancements and emphasis on material possessions, consumerism, and monetary success combine to disconnect people from their natural surroundings which encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally including the interaction of all living species, climate, weather, and natural resources that affect human survival and economic activity. Since the beginning of human (homo- sapiens) existence going back to the Pleistocene Epoch in the Cenozoic Era, humans have been consistently creating, developing, and evolving their means of technology and standard of living throughout time until now. Unfortunately, by doing so humans are furthering themselves form nature, but as Edward Abby, an…

    • 1064 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Humans are facing serious problems due to the fact that we are destroying our planet. The root of our troubles begins with the division of labor. In The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith claims that the division of labor saves time by “[increasing] the quantity of work,” but most importantly it allowed for the invention of new machines (7-9). The organization of labor along with new technology raises productivity, and this eventually led to the green revolution (c 20 Feb, 2017). The green revolution is the main thing that sparked the problems we are facing at this point in time.…

    • 752 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Most of the US population lives in either urban or suburban areas, furthermore, limiting societal interaction with nature. Depending on the way you look at it, the industrial revolution was either extremely beneficial, or massively destructive, especially to our environment. With technologies and advancements being created in the 21st century there is potential to close the gap between nature and technology, or to drive the wedge even further.…

    • 68 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mankind had many impacts throughout history economically and socially. One significant impact that arose because of changing economic and social pleasures was the effect mankind had on the environment. Mankind’s impact on the environment changes from the Agricultural Revolution through the 19th century in that man destroys more of the environment as industrialization progresses. Industrialization of the environment started out small with…

    • 657 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As the population increases, the total of vehicles increases aswell. “In 1945 there were 100 cars per 1000 people, by 1970 there were almost 500 cars per 1000 people”(Forster 2004, p.17), this will cause traffic congestion within the cities. As a result of traffic congestion, pollution levels will increase. This will negatively affect peoples health and well being. Along with the inconviences of urban…

    • 664 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Industrial societies have many factories and vehicles which produce wastes that may poison the land and water. Emissions are also released by many factories which pollutes the air we breathe. The wastes produced by many factories and machines found in modernized societies causes harm to people and nature. The biproducts can create diseases and add to global warming which are both long-term negative effects (372).…

    • 953 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pollution is a problem in cities today. Cities contain a large amount of people in a relatively small amount of space. Most of these people have cars that put out toxins into the atmosphere. Among the cars and trucks you have the heaters and A/C units that keep the building at a comfortable temperature that also puts out toxins. In most cities there is the problem of smog. A fog like substance that is composed of carbon monoxide gases that when reacted with the sun fall to the earth forming smog. Many people have decided that the pollution is to much for them and have decided to move to the suburbs to attain a healthier environment. Since there is not as many people in one condensed area pollution is a lot less than in the city.…

    • 644 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    However, though urbanization brings about much advantage and benefits, there are also considerably severe disadvantages and impacts caused. One example of this is the pollution of the environment due to this. With the urbanization of the world, more and more fuel would be burnt, which releases greenhouse gases and contributes towards global warming. This is only one reason how modernization can damage the environment.…

    • 331 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many of crops and species are disappearing recently. It may cause by human activity or the environments but the most important reason is because the human activity and its leads to the global change then disappearing the animals, disappearing animals and crops it cause by human activity which leads to building road and cutting down the trees.…

    • 280 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Human impact on the environment or anthropogenic impact on the environment includes impacts on biophysical environments, biodiversity and other resources.[1][2] The term anthropogenic designates an effect or object resulting from human activity.…

    • 4207 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    devat cost

    • 2089 Words
    • 9 Pages

    DEVELOPMENT: Thus industrial processes for the economic development play a major role in the degradation of the global environment. In developed countries, environmental regulation and new technologies are reducing the environmental impact, but industrial activities and growing demand are still putting pressures on the environment and the natural resource base. In developing countries a double environmental effect is occurring: old environmental problems, such as deforestation and soil degradation, remain largely unsolved. At the same time, new problems linked to industrialisation are emerging, such as rising greenhouse gas emissions, air and water pollution, growing volumes of waste, desertification and chemicals pollution.…

    • 2089 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Industrialization has brought untold wealth and has transformed the way of life in the last century. Industrialization and urbanization have become a global phenomenon, resulting in serious environmental problems such as resource depletion, climate change, and pollution. Large scale use of natural recourses, their polluting processes and transport infrastructure have exacerbated the environmental problems. Since the beginning of industrialization humankind has been utilizing natural resources-coal, oil, gas, water, minerals-at an accelerating rate. Energy resources are an obvious example of limited resources whose uses have major impact on environment in the form of emission of harmful gases and other wastes and also, inevitably, generates carbon dioxide, a gas which plays a key role in the greenhouse ‘global warming’ effect. Rivers are polluted by factories and becoming a health hazard. The dumping of industrial waste into streams is resulting contaminating clean water supplies. There were reports of rivers that had turned orange or had caught on fire, the smog over some cities was becoming intolerable, and there were signs of negative health consequences from buried waste. Environmental concerns have become increasingly central to social policy. The roles of governments in relation to environmental issue are becoming extremely important. A great many of environmental damage problems are due to industrialization and urbanization. Human beings have developed a capacity to create and use tools or what is now called technology. Technology can provide the means for modifying the natural environment for human purpose. Engineers have professional obligations to society. Engineers are called on to seek solutions to problems that have a far reaching impact on society. The solution of such problems requires careful and responsible application of scientific principles. It is necessary for the engineer to address problems…

    • 1406 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The industrial revolution, which began around 1750, ushered human beings into a new era of modern civilization. While the remarkable progress in science and technology has improved people's lives greatly, our earth is changing and the environment around us is becoming worse and worse. According to Booth (1991, p.552), the" long-run economic growth relies on the creation of new industries and new forms of economic activity, these new forms of economic activity create new kinds of environmental problems". Focusing on these aspects, the economic growth will bring about serious environmental problems such as water pollution, air pollution, ozone depletion, and acid rain.…

    • 1026 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Earth and Human Activity

    • 784 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Let’s take the great state of Texas, and where I grew up, for example. Within the last two decades, many factories have been built to sustain the states economy. Areas that were once beautiful plains and forest are now covered with buildings and roads. The fresh water lakes were once clean enough to bathe in and use the water to cook, but now are dirty, and filled with muck. More and more the states population has become more ill due to this pollution. It is very obvious that the cause of this deadly pollution is industrialization. In other large states in the U.S., industrialization is on a much larger scale so you can imagine the extent of the pollution. We also have to look at China where there is more industry than the U.S., the Middle East and South America with the oil fields. Mostly every country on the earth has some form of industry, whether it is oil fields, factories or industrial plants, covering the Earth with pollution. All these different areas of industrialization have to eliminate waste matter which is mainly given off in chemical form. The chemical wastes, either runs off into the ground and eventually into our lakes and water supplies, or goes up via smoke and diffused in to the atmosphere that we breathe, therefore slowly killing us and our mother Earth.…

    • 784 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays