Human effects on Environment and Animals

Because of greater technology, efficiency and productivity, human beings have managed to pull ahead of animals in many aspects. It is with this great power and influence that many responsibilities fall upon humans. We are capable of altering the environment, even completely eradicating ecosystems for the better, but all we have managed to conger is a mess of things. Many life threatening phenomena and environmental issues are present only because of human negligence. Humans have been the greatest influence on the environment. Mainly because of advanced technology have we been able to make such an impact. Although there are some situations that might be considered a benefit, such as greater food production, for the greater part humans have made some mistakes concerning the well being of themselves and the environment. We have interfered too much with the natural process and cycles of the earth that many organisms including ourselves have had to or will eventually have to adapt to the changing environment if it is not reversed Today one of the leading issues in media has been the dwindling availability of fuel resources. For the past century humans have been polluting the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels. Because the This has had a negative effect on the ozone layer and even brought about threatening issues like global warming due to the effect of increased CO2 in the atmosphere and the green house effect. Not only have we polluted the atmosphere. There are many terrestrial ecosystems that we have altered due to the fact that we generate more wastes and toxins than any other species on earth. DDT is a prominent example of this. Intended primarily as an insecticide, DDT has become a global problem that have infested many organisms with grater implications on those in higher trophic levels due to the fact of trophic magnification

Another issue that has managed to adversely affect the environment has been human attempts in agriculture. Deforestation to increase the available land for agriculture has had a negative impact because of all the organisms that it has left homeless. It is because of this problem that many habitats have been destroyed driving many species to endangerment and even extinction. There are many species that we yet do not even know about and already we have managed to eradicate them from the planet. Artificial fertilizer has also been a problem in agriculture. At first it sounded like a good idea, no need to acquire more land if once it was depleted of its minerals it could be restocked and reused, but on issue that has risen its interference with the biogeochemical cycle. Nitrogen for example was a limiting nutrients in depleted agricultural land. When man made induced ammonium was added it kept the nitrogen from being able to be used as efficiently and being recycled in the nitrogen cycle. Now there abnormally high amounts of nitrate and Nitrite left in the soil with no way to assimilate back into the cycle. Besides actually altering the environment humans have managed to have an impact on the behavior of many animals. This is due mainly to the fact that we have become to involved in their habitats and resources. Many species of animal have had to adapt to changing environments because of human influence over them. Disappearing habitats, and resources have forced many organisms to have to compete in areas they did not before exist in. This has led to the increased chance of extinction for many species. Animal have had to adapt the changes that human are doing the environment where as before this was not an obstacle that any had to overcome.