Humans and the Environment

In reviewing the PBS website, it becomes difficult to wrap one’s head around a disturbing reality: that we are destroying any and all natural resources available to us. One of the most troubling issues for environmentalists today is the drastic increase in levels of consumption of freshwater and fossil fuels at the hands of developing nations, which in turn exacerbates the environmental pollution afflicting the non-developed world. In other words, his greenhouse gasses and other pollutants know no natural boundaries and can transgress any border. The unlimited extent of the damage that might be caused by these pollutants is a troubling reality in and of itself, as it should be.

Noxious gasses cause the phenomenon known as global warming. Air pollutants, carbon dioxide, and fossil fuel emissions all act as a blanket that traps warm air on Earth. This trapping effect results in diminished rivers and lakes, thereby jeopardizing our water supply. However, through climate change cooler climates will experience thawing so severe as to cause flooding capable of altering local agricultural conditions. Indeed, carbon dioxide contamination has increased by 30% over the past 200 years due primarily to industry and auto emissions. By 2025, the Earth’s available freshwater supply will have been reduced by 70% due to overuse and contamination. The United States, Europe, China and Japan are the greatest contributors to this global contamination epidemic.

As just one alarming example of both China’s contributions to global pollution, in addition to the United States’ contributions, China has 15 cars for every 1,000 people, whereas the U.S. has 600 cars for every 1,000 people. This mind-blowing statistic indicates that American Citizens have become overwhelmingly lazy and their corresponding contributions to the pollution of our planet only serve to support the Chinese auto industry.

Over the past 30 years, logging and clearance initiatives have cost us over half our forests, with 40% of the remaining estimated as endangered. And the growth of the human population will necessitate further conversion of land, which will inhibit the Earth’s natural defense mechanisms regarding flooding, erosion and landslides. Moreover, human-sourced byproducts disposed of carelessly are threatening the long-term survival of animal species all over the planet; ocean reefs are now considered endangered due to coral reef “bleaching” and several thousand species will have become extinct by 2030 if we continue to operate as we have been.

Our planet is grossly overpopulated. There were once just 10 million people walking the Earth, whereas we now have several cities that themselves have populations of 10 million or more. After the Black Plague took its toll on humanity by decreasing the global population substantially, the Industrial Revolution increased typical living standards and encouraged human proliferation and societal growth. Antibiotics and public health initiatives arrive through the 1920s and 30s and beyond, furthering the human potential for growth. These advances also enhanced life expectancy, which served to raise the number of people capable of conceiving children. With so many more people roaming an Earth whose size has not increased correspondingly, we need to arrive at a more productive means of cooperating with our neighbors in ensuring our Earth’s long-term survival.

There is no easy way to save ourselves from destroying the homes we share. In order to achieve this, I believe that we must decrease our “needs,” which have come to reflect more “desires” than “necessities.” This initiative will create zones of economic depression, but as I’ve discussed in previous papers, we must view cost considering benefit—without drastic adjustments in our consumption practices, our Earth will eventually cease to exist.