Human influence on the changes of the planet’s original ecosystem and landscape is undeniable. From the creation of the Earth in its pristine state and now having entered the era of the Anthropocene thousands of years later, its human inhabitants are dominating, transforming, and affecting every part of the planet’s natural systems. Vitousek in his Human Dominantion of Earth’s Ecosystems article, in an attempt to make an absolute point, goes as far as to say that “no ecosystem on Earth’s surface is free of pervasive human influence”. Absolutely none. None remains unaffected by humanity’s dominance. Kareiva, in her article called Conservation in the Antrhopocene, also poses a similar view. She writes, “humankind has already profoundly transformed the planet and will continue to do so” and “the effects of human activity are found in every corner of the Earth.” There is no question about it. Nature and people are very much intertwined.
And so consequently, I believe that understanding the interactions between nature and human activities become very important. Vitousek and Kareiva both describe some of the ways in which humans have affected the environment and the planet in which we live. Early conservation, which includes fencing and building protected areas of “wilderness” to parks, often resulted in resettling of many local people living in the area. And according to Kareiva, without human communities such special areas of wilderness became “no less human constructions than Disneyland.” Vitousek talks about how “humans use of land alters the structure and functioning of ecosystems, and it alters how ecosystems interact with the atmosphere, with aquatic systems, and with surrounding land.”
There has been an increase of CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere. Why? Because of human’s daily use of cars, mining, and fossil fuel combustion, to name a few. Human Domination of Earth’s Ecosystems mention that “as many as one-quarter of Earth’s bird species have been driven to extinction”. How did that happen? The article’s answer to the question is, “by human activities over the past two millennia…” Right now, six percent of the rivers on Earth is evaporated. Why? Because of “human manipulation” on the water systems to meet the increasing demand for fresh water. As demonstrated above, human activities have direct effect on nature as well as its nonhuman inhabitants on Earth. Humanity’s influence on Earth is immense and alters it at a much faster rate than it realizes.
As Kareiva mentions, trying to “undo” the damage already done or attempting to return to “prehumen landscapes” will be pointless and simply not possible. The more valuable task for us to complete is one articulated by Kareiva. It is to see “a new vision of a planet in which nature—forests, wetlands, diverse species, and other ancient ecosystems—exists amid a wide variety of modern, human landscapes.” Protecting and preserving nature while embracing human development seems to be the most reasonable and effective way to conserve nature and the Earth’s ecosystem.
