Throughout the exploration of how the differ factors have
affected the human population; one aspect that holds true is that the
environment has been irreversibly changed by the growth of human society and
not for the better. The population growth has forced a loss of Biodiversity, massive
deforestation, and an overall decline of atmospheric conditions due to global
warming.
The overall decrease in Biodiversity
stems from the huge population boom. In one example, certain species of whales
were hunted to near extinction. The
demand for whales increased because society found how useful oil whale was. A
whale could produce anywhere from 70 to 140 barrels of fat and each barrel
contained about 180 liters of oil (Aguilar 1986). Whaling was not done with the
future in mind. Fishermen would capture any whales they could spot, adults and
calves alike. Soon the quantities of whales began to deplete because by fishing
the calves there were less and less whales reaching maturation to continue
birthing new whales (Aguilar 1986). Overfishing soon became a problem with the
peak of whaling in the early 19th century averaging about 50,000
whales captured per year (Aguilar 1986). But the population boom far exceeded
the sustainable limit for whale stock and other energy resources were sought out.
Today, we still experience the effect of overfishing. Whales are much smaller
(the larger whales being natural selected against because they were all hunted)
and the amount of whales in certain species are limited (Baker and Clapham 2004).
With the increase in the human
population especially with urbanization, there is an increase in specialized
diets as well as lifestyle. In order to keep up with the demands of these diets,
which consist of more meat or other unique food, there needs to be land
dedicated to raising cattle or farming for growing specialized food. Additionally,
there needs to be an increase in the harvesting of wood to supply the need of
wood based products. As the demand increases, the amount of deforestation
increases to keep up with the demand. In Latin America, the push behind
deforestation is the need for land to grow soybeans and land to raise cattle. Soybeans
have become a popular crop. These crops have multiple uses because they can be
separated into oil it produces and the actual solid left over after the
extraction. They are used in several dishes around the world by being converted
to soy sauce, soy milk, tofu, tempeh, and many other dishes. They have recently
seen an increase in demand due to the trend of veganism and vegetarianism.
However, surprisingly enough, food is not the main use for soy beans. Most
soybeans are consumed by livestock. It is a mean ingredient in food given to
chickens, pigs, and cattle. So with consumption by both humans and animals,
there is huge demand for more soybeans and to keep up with the demand, more
land is cleared to convert it into a soybean plantation. Thus soybean
production as well as harvested areas have increased (please refer to figure
below). Similarly, cattle and the meat and other resources they provide are
also in high demand. The United States alone is one of the biggest drivers for
more cattle production with the high quantities of meat consumed by the country
every year. But not only is deforestation encouraged in order to provide land
for cattle to be raised, but it also goads deforestation because in order to
feed the cattle, there needs to be more crops. Indonesia and Malaysia
experience a different threat driving deforestation, palm oil plantations. The
leading use of palm oil is for the creation of vegetable oil. But currently it
has also been used for soaps, detergents, lubricants, cosmetics, and in recent
uses, palm oil has been developed as a feedstock for biodiesel fuels (Union of
Concerned Scientists 2011). In non food related threats, the biggest drivers
for deforestation are the timber industry. At times, it is not the land that is
sought after, but the wood itself. Wood is used for various things including
furniture, paper, fuel, and building materials. The demand for wood is one of
the key reasons for forest degradation. Natural forests are being used to
supply the need for wood, but these forests are not being fully cleared. Yet,
the demand for wood based products continues to increase and if there is not a
mechanism in place to stop or slow down, the primary tropical forests will be
at a higher risk for logging (Union of Concerned Scientists 2011). In a more another
example, deforestation can be triggered by human need. In order to create
quicker trade routes and easier access to resources, forests are cut down in
order to make way for paved roads or highways (Decade of Destruction Video
1990). In other example, some point to small scale farming and shifting
cultivation as other large drivers of deforestation; these in fact are not as
deadly as other methods.
The biggest concern from the growth of the human
population is global warming. Global warming is the rise in the average temperature
of the Earth’s atmosphere. All of the previous results of human population
through the use of fossil fuels heavily from the industrial revolution till
today and deforestation have dramatically contributed to the problem. Because
of the relentless abuse against the environment in the past couple centuries,
it is impossible to reverse the changes we have made, but it is possible to
slow down our contribution so we do not increase the problem. The most
promising human-environment interaction in the Anthropocene (the current epoch
we are in), is now the awareness humans have of the changes they have caused
and the conscious effort that has risen in order to combat further changes.
Awareness began to increase around the 1960’s with research and data coming in
about concentrations of chemicals in our atmosphere. With the spread of
awareness through different medias, society today lives in a very environment
conscious atmosphere. ‘Green products’ and produced in mass quantities and sold
in every store. The responsiveness to environmental changes has now seen a
slowing down in processes that were in full speed (for example an increase in
greenhouse gases) (Steffen et al, 2007). We are not out of the woods yet. It
requires effort on all our parts as well as some creative thinking for future
plans in order to slow down the effect we have had. But, with the help of
scientists and the support of the population, the future is looking a little
less bleak.
Figure 6: Graphical illustration of global warming
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