We are living in the era of humankind, in which humanity is dominating every measure of the earth’s ecology and geochemistry. It is actually impossible to find a “place on earth that is unmarked by human activity” (Kareiva et al). Historically, artificial changes in the environment have been to benefit the human species (e.g. deforestation for economic purposes) and/or are an unfortunate consequence of human activity (e.g. oil spill off the Gulf of Mexico, 2010). All human actions have had significant and sometimes even irreversible outcomes that individuals and societies have just recently begun to not only experience a deep nostalgia for pre-human landscapes and environments, but a longing to be more environmentally conscious and to ‘rewind’ some of the damaging consequences that certain ecological systems have suffered.
In Human Domination of Earth’s Ecosystems, Vitousek (et al) describes the human effects on the planet’s ecosystems. In general, land transformation is the primary force in the damage or loss of biological diversity on the global scale not only because it can affect the boundaries of changed lands, but also impact the climate of an area directly. Although, marine environments are more challenging to analyze than those of terrestrial ecosystems, there is still a substantial amount of damage—especially since most of the “human population is concentrated near coasts”. In the marine industry, the focus is on “top predators, whose removal can alter marine ecosystems out of proportion to their abundance,” leading to overexploitation or depletion of specific underwater species. Also, humankind has had a substantial impact on biogeochemical cycles. Although CO2 is added into the atmosphere via human activities (e.g. mining and burning of fossil fuels), the high level of gas is contributing to the greenhouse effect. Changes in other gas such as N has also had consequences, including: an increase in reactive N gases, contribution to acid rain, and an amplified concentration of the greenhouse gas (nitrous oxide).
Other than alterations in the land, sea, and sky, human activity has affected animal life as well. Humankind has accelerated rates of extinction for many species—a process that is “wholly irreversible”. Although conservation attempts on individual endangered species has had some successes, the process is usually very expensive.
Kareiva (et al), however, suggests in Conservation in the Anthropocene of some examples of habitats unaffected by human activity. She states that “ecologists and conservationists have grossly overstated the fragility of nature” and that nature can actually be very resilient—recovering “from even the most powerful human disturbances.” For example, the Chernobly nuclear facility has thriving wildlife, in spite of the high levels of radiation. Orangutans in Indonesia, originally thought to survive only in unspoiled forests, have actually been found in “oil palm plantations and degraded lands” in large quantities. As humans destroy habitats, new ones are created in its place.
Human activity, which occurs to most importantly benefit the growth and success of the human enterprise, has had immense global consequences. Humans are changing the planet at an accelerated pace, and the rate of destruction of the earth’s ecosystems will continue to rise. A balance must be struck between harboring the growing/expanding scale of the human race with keeping different environments at their own natural pace, submissive to its own organic changes.
