Impacts of Human Beings Activities on the Environment - Essay Example

Impacts of Human Beings’ activities on the Environment Introduction Conservation of the environment is one of the aspects that have been given much global attention in the 21st century. This has resulted from the fact that a number of human activities have been proven to be major threats to the environment as they are associated with emission of extremely harmful products to the environment. As a result, many people, agencies, corporations, governments, and the world in general have been recently focusing on how human beings can conserve the environment for future generation. One of the negative effective of human activities includes the element of pollution, which is currently a major global threat that has been increasing in a dramatic rate due to the increase of industrialization and other human activities that involve use of energy. This essay is going to focus on the impacts of human activities on the environment, analyze how different sources of energy affect the environment as well recommend usage of the most sustainable and friendly sources of energy. Effects various sources of energy to the environment Fossil (natural gas, coal, and oil) Carried out studies have proven that one of the major factors contributing to the high levels of pollution to the environment is the type of sources of energy that human beings use in fueling their industrial activities (Jaccard 63). Most of these sources of energies used in almost all countries are nonrenewable and highly unsustainable, a factor that have made them a chief threat to the environment (Jaccard 65). However, some sources are known to have more adverse effects to the environment than others with oil, coal and natural gas being the main sources that environmentalists blame much for the high level of pollution in the modern world. Statistics show that oil is the most common source of energy with oil being used to fuel over 80% of all the activities undertaken on daily basis such as in factories, cooking and for transport. However, combustion of oil leads to emission of greenhouse gases that have detrimental effects to the environment (Curley 95). The main constituents of products released after burning oil, natural gas and coal are carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide that have significantly contributed to global warming or climate change. In addition, combusted fossil fuels lead to formation of other harmful gases which ends up forming acids such as carbonic acids and sulfuric acid. Carbon dioxide and suphurous gaseous produces once fossils are combusted combine with moisture or rain in the atmosphere to form acidic rainfall. Acidic rains are a major threat to plant and fish health once they get on to the ground. First, acidic rain damages plant leaves and the roots especially if the rains are heavy enough that it gets absorbed by the roots. In such a case, plants end up dying since leaves can no longer manufacture adequate food for the plant. Moreover, acid rain has been associated with the gradual decrease of fish stock in water bodies since much of the acid rain ends up in the oceans inform of surface runoffs and underground percolations (Pfeiffer 59). Fossil fuels also contribute to environmental damage through oil leakages. In most cases, oil is transported by sea from overseas countries whereby it at times end up leaking to the water bodies hence posing fish to death as oil prevents penetration of oxygen to the water and hinders growth of planktons that fish rely on for food (Pfeiffer 56). Oil leakage is also very common on land due to breakage of transportation pipes and tankers. In general, fossil fuels are the main causes of pollution to the environment be it air, water and soil pollutions. Nuclear energy Nuclear energy is another major source of energy especially in the developed countries (Bodansky 42). This source of energy is believed to be accounting for more than 16% of the total world’s electricity and is the second leading source of energy in USA (Bodansky 45). It is viewed as a cleaner source of energy compared to fossil fuels because it involves production of less greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. However, one of the main challenges facing this method of energy production is the issue of waste disposal and safety of the technology. Despite the fact that the technology applied in the production of nuclear energy is highly sophisticated, it has never been possible to construct a nuclear plant that is 100% safe (Bodansky 50). Lack of effective measures to control it can lead to devastating consequences like that of the Vukushima, in Japan, which led to loss of human lives. Moreover, nuclear power plants release harmful radioactive waves especially if the walls of the plant have some weaknesses or melts down. Consequences to the environment Usage of the above-mentioned sources of energy and in particular the fossil fuels have numerous detrimental effects to the environment. One of most notable adverse impacts to the environment is the effects experienced due to global warming also known as climate change. Climate change is the continuous increase of the average global temperatures, which results from accumulation of greenhouses gases and has turned out to be a major global threat in the 21st century. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide have been on the rise in the past few decades as the world get more industrialized and human population increases. This has resulted from the continuous accumulations of greenhouse gases that have punctured ionosphere, a layer that prevents penetration of harmful ultra violet rays to the earth surface. It has also resulted from the excessive accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere particularly near the ground which scientists have been proven to be highly harmful to living things. As a result of penetration of ultraviolet rays to the earth surface, there has been a drastic increase in cases of skin cancer, depletion of some animal and plant species as well as depletion of glacier from mountaintops due to the increase in worlds temperatures. Sustainable sources of energy/alternative sources of energy Pollution among other adverse effects resulting from usage of unsustainable sources of energy have continued to dominate despite the fact that there exist other numerous sources of energy that are relatively friendly to the environment like solar, wind , wave and geothermal sources of energy. All these sources of energy also known as alternative sources of energy do not involve use of fossil fuels or split of atoms thus causing less or no harm to the environment. Some of the reasons that proves the need for the development of alternative sources of energy include the fact that they have minimal air and water contamination, they reduce land disruption caused during mining and drilling activities for fossil fuels, and most importantly the fact that they reduce emission of hazardous wastes and greenhouse gases to the environment. It is only this type of renewable energy offers a lasting solution for sustainability to the current global crisis for sustainable sources of energy. Geothermal power is one of the above mentioned alternative sources of energy and a major solution to the rising demand for sustainable energy in the world. Production of this type of energy applies a very basic concept that involves drilling wells to geothermal reservoirs and then bringing the hot water onto the earth surface whereby it spins turbine generators to produce electricity. Geothermal energy has started gaining some popularity in the modern world tough t has not yet been fully embraced in most countries. According to the latest reports from the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA), 24 states have increased geothermal power online by about 20% since the last International GEA report of 2008 (Michaelides 70). According to the same research, it was found that geothermal power is presently providing electricity to more than 52 million people with over seventy nations presently having geothermal projects which are under consideration. This was termed as an incredible increase of geothermal power production by about 52% from the previous international report that had been compiled by GEA in 2010 (Michaelides 78). Wind and solar energies have also gained some popularity in the global sphere as more people and governments continue to appreciate the need for renewable sources of energy. Currently, more countries have embarked on establishing more solar and wind energy projects with the most recent mega project being the dirham solar project in Dubai that is worth $12 billion and positioned on a 48-square kilometer area(Michaelides 98). In conclusion, human activities are the major factors that are leading to detrimental effects to the environment in the modern world. One of these harmful effects to the environment include the element of pollution that is significantly contributed by the type of energy sources that man use to fuel activities that consume energy. Fossil fuels which include natural gas, oil and coal are the most common sources of energy being used in the world despite their harmful effects to the environment. Once these fossils are burnt, they lead to emission of harmful gases that lead to increase of greenhouse gases, acid rainfall as well as a poor appearance in the areas they are extracted. Nuclear energy is also a common source of energy especially in developed countries like USA among others. However, all these sources of energy are not sustainable and friendly to the environment, a factor that has led to a pressing need for adoption of renewable sources of energy like geothermal, wave energy, wind and solar energy. These alternative sources of energy are friendly to the environment and the global society should fully embrace them. Works Cited Top of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Top of Form Top of Form Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Bodansky, David. “Nuclear Energy: Principles, Practices, and Prospects.” New York: Springer, 2004. Internet resource. Curley, Robert. “Fossil Fuels.” New York: Britannica Educational Pub. In association with Rosen Educational Services, 2012. Print. Jaccard, Mark K. “Sustainable Fossil Fuels: The Unusual Suspect in the Quest for Clean and Enduring Energy.” Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Internet resource. Michaelides, Efstathios. “Alternative Energy Sources.” Heidelberg: Springer, 2012. Print. Pfeiffer, Dale A. “Eating Fossil Fuels: Oil, Food and the Coming Crisis in Agriculture.” Gabriola Island, B.C: New Society Publishers, 2006. Internet resource. Read More