Human Impact on the Environment – Problems caused by population growth

In about 1830 the human population reached unrivalled one million million, there ar now somewhere around six billion people on the planet today and that figure is growing at a very high and very rapid rate.Past populations were controlled by disease, war and famine alone now because of technology and modern medicine. The surroundings around us has been built to support these growing numbers but this development is having a huge effect on the worlds ecosystems.Human populations put on other space and habitats of other species to profit way for their own. This ignorance has decimateed some(prenominal) species to extinguishing and polluted the environment this has endangered our survival and the survival of other species at risk.Read this Ch. 22 Respiratory SystemHowever, in natural ecosystems factors ar limiting whereas human ecosystems atomic number 18 different as we have the technology to maximise resources and find new ones when existing ones run out. The planet evid ently can only hold a certain number of people, around species never reach their maximum numbers but they have a peak, consequently the numbers start to decline.Activities that have changed the landscapeIndustrial and domesticated thrift slightness has to be disposed of, and as the population is increasing the yearn is becoming more and more difficult to get rid of. in that location argon a consider of things that cause befoulment in change rates on a big scale vegetable oil wasteweir to a normal deodorant can which uses cfcs. Here is a card that shows the pollutant and its effects on humans and the environment.PollutantEffects on humans and the environment. appearanceSmokeMakes breathing difficult.Sulphur DioxideCauses acid rain.OzoneDamages leaves.CFCsDamages ozone layer. coulomb DioxideIncreases the Greenhouse Effect. urineSewageEutrophication.FertilisersEutrophication.Acid RainMakes soils, lakes and rivers acidic.Oil Spills polish fish.Toxic Chemicals e.g. mercuryKil l fish and other aquatic life. cut downSolid waste presidential term at landfill sitesMethane causes explosions and increases the Greenhouse Effect.Mining waste e.g. LeadWater run-off poisons plants and animals.Heavy metals kill most plants and animals.The Pollution of the WaterThere be a number of different ways and processes of water pollution the main ones are waste disposal, perfect pollution and eutrophication. Waste disposal is the domestic and industrial waste which is treated in sewage plants to train impurities. The problem is that some of this waste is being disposed in many rivers and canals and polluting them heavily. This has destroyed many freshwater ecosystems like the Great Lakes of North America and separate of the Norfolk Broads. Organic pollution is where domestic sewage is disposed in rivers and canals and the organic content in the sewage is a food source for bacteria and fungi. These organisms also take the dissolved group O in the water so that fish and other aquatic animals die out. Eutrophication is when the nitrate and phosphate levels are high this encourages the growth of algae. These algae can cause a lot of damage to the water ecosystem.* algae grow rapidly and give an algal bloom over the surface of the water.* Many blue-green algae produce toxins which kill some plants and animals.* Small animals that feed on algae do non multiply fast enough to check the increase in the algae.* Algae block out the light for the rooted plants growing on beds of lakes and they die. This reduces the amount of money of oxygen.* The algal population crashed due to competition for resources. The algae are then decomposed by bacteria which use the oxygen in the water.* This lack of oxygen kills many invertebrates and fish.All this is the process of eutrophication.The pollution of the atmospherePollution is a term used to describe the presence of an unwanted substance. Although air contains separate of microscopic particles, like volcanic du st and tiny sand grains from deserts, this pollution is natural in origin. Man-made pollution of the atmosphere however, is now causing a lot of concern. Most of this air pollution comes from the burning of coal, oil and gas the dodo fuels in power stations, factories and homes, and petrol and diesel in cars and other road vehicles. We need energy and electricity to keep us warm and to cook our food, but unfortunately we do not make enough from other non-polluting sources.Burning fossil fuels releases glasshouse gases into the air. This whitethorn be changing the clime and causing global warming. Other pollutants like treat dioxide and nitrogen oxides are also given off. This can reduce the feel of air which we breathe, leading to health problems, and can cause acid rain. spherical WarmingGlobal air temperatures as measured by land-based weather stations show an increase of about 0.45 degrees Celsius over the past century. These may be mistakes in info or climatic variation .Satellite data indicate a slight cooling in the climate in the last 18 years. These satellites use advanced technology and are not subject to the heat island effect around major cities that alters ground-based thermometers.Projections of future climate changes are uncertain. Although some computer models predict warming in the adjacent century, these models are very limited. The effects of cloud formations, precipitation, the fiber of the oceans, or the sun, are still not well known and often inadequately correspond in the climate models although all play a major role in determining our climate. Scientists who work on these models are quick to buck out that they are far from perfect representations of reality, and are probably not advanced enough for direct use in policy implementation. Interestingly, as the computer climate models have become more sophisticated in recent years, the predicted increase in temperature has been lowered.However, 98% of total global greenhouse gas e missions are natural (mostly water vapour) and only 2% are from man-made sources. preserve DevelopmentSustainable development is where a population can make developments and improvements to their area or their needs without causing accidental injury to the environment. Sustainable development is all about a greener planet in both developed and developing countries by not polluting the environment and being more energy friendly. Sustainable development is* Social progress which recognises the needs of everyone* Effective protection of the environment* Prudent use of natural resourcesSustained development can be achieved by using less fossil fuels and researching into environmentally friendly sources of energy like solar and geothermic sources. Be less wasteful so that we use fewer resources so that they are prolonged and regenerate, find more effective ways of disposing of waste and producing less waste in the first place.