Carbon Dioxide Emissions

The human activity most widely viewed as changing the planet is the burning of fossil fuels. In order to
produce the energy that drives the world’s economy, countries rely on carbon-rich fossil fuels like coal,
oil, and gas. By burning these materials, humans have added nearly 400 billion tons of carbon dioxide
into the atmosphere between 1870 and 2013. Right now, atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide are higher
than at any point in human history; the last time they were this high was 800,000 years ago. Carbon
dioxide is a heat-trapping gas, and as a result of these atmospheric changes, average temperatures on
the planet are rising and global weather patterns are changing. 2015 is expected to be the hottest year
on record, following record high in 2014. Some of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is absorbed into
oceans, increasing their acidity by 30 percent over the past 100 years. This change has far reaching
affects on oceanic ecosystems and the food chains that support underwater plant and animal life.

Draining Rivers

Life depends heavily on the supply of fresh water that exists in rivers, lakes, and aquifers. According to
Wired Science, it’s estimated that one fourth of Earth’s river basins run dry before ever reaching the
ocean. This is the result of reduced rainfall caused by deforestation and the construction of man-made
dams that divert water flow in inefficient ways. Less water flowing through river basins has also altered
local weather patterns.

The Aral Sea, located on the Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan border, was once the fourth largest lake, but has
now shrunk by 75 percent (see image above). The Aral Sea was once fed by two major rivers which now,
due to human activity, run dry before they reach the lake. In the early 1960’s, the Soviet Union diverted
water from the in-flowing rivers to irrigate rice and cotton crops in Central Asia. The reduced water flow
caused salt concentrations to increase, making it inhabitable for the fish species that once lived there.
The Aral Sea used to absorb heat during the summer and keep the temperature mild during the winters,
but now that it’s drying up, the local climate is changing: in surrounding areas, summers are now longer
and hotter and the winters are colder.

Black Carbon

For centuries, humans have engaged in activities that produce black carbon particles. Black carbon
particles are released into the atmosphere in the form of smoke that is produced by cooking with solid
animal fuels, burning trees, and spewing diesel exhaust. When black carbon particles reach the
atmosphere, they form a heat-absorbing layer that causes temperatures to rise. Raindrops tend to form
around black carbon particles in the atmosphere, and when they fall to the ground, they absorb heat
there too, thus magnifying their warming effect.

According to Science Daily, scientists estimate that 25 to 35 percent of black carbon in the global
atmosphere was emitted by China and India from the burning of wood and cow dung in household
cooking and coal to heat homes. Nations that rely heavily on diesel fuel for transportation also
contribute large amounts.

Wired Science reported that over the last century, Arctic temperatures have risen by an estimated 3.4-
degree-Fahrenheit, and scientists estimate that half of this rise can be attributed to black-carbon
pollution. It’s likely that black carbon has altered weather patterns in a way that’s reduced rainfall over
South Asia and West Africa. Also, scientists believe that black carbon has played a role in causing
Himalayan glaciers to melt, threatening water supplies for hundreds of millions of people.

Industrial Agriculture

As the world’s population continues to grow, so does the amount of farmland needed to provide
sufficient food. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), over 40 percent of Earth’s
surface is now comprised of agricultural lands, and a large portion of these lands were once covered by
forests. Much of Europe, for example, was once covered with dense temperate forests but over time
population growth-driven deforestation has led to more farm land.

According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, three billion tons of CO2 enters the atmosphere every
year from deforestation. That destruction amounts to 13 million hectares destroyed annually, much of
which occurring in the Amazon rain forest. Here, the regional cycle of evaporation and condensation has
been disrupted, raising the possibility of the remaining forest becoming a savannah. Furthermore,
because the rain forest is shrinking, its carbon-dioxide absorbing capacities are being diminished, which
in turn means more of the heat-trapping gas is reaching the upper atmosphere, causing global
temperatures to rise.

Fertilizers used in farming have had far-reaching effects. Their use has injected vast amounts of nitrogen
and phosphorous into regional ecosystems. Wired Science reports that 120 million tons of nitrogen are
removed from the atmosphere each year and 20 million tons of phosphorous is mined from the ground
in order to produce fertilizer to be used for farming. These practices add a tremendous amount of
nitrogen and phosphorus to the biosphere than would occur naturally. Runoff from farmland often
carries large amounts of fertilizer into rivers and streams that eventually drain into the sea. All of this
fertilizer runoff creates rapidly-expanding marine dead zones.

Reef Destruction

Ocean reefs make up the foundation of some of the world’s richest marine ecosystems. Their demise is
disturbing the flow of nutrients and energy that support animal and plant life in our oceans. As a result
of water pollution, ocean acidification, overfishing, and climate change, experts estimate that one-fifth
of global reefs are now dead and one-quarter of reef species may be extinct by 2050. Furthermore, the
livelihood of some 500 million people worldwide are dependent on reefs, as these are where many fish
and other species start their lives.

Scientists believe northwest Mediterranean once supported a vibrant array of reefs, which provided
home to plant and animal species. Today, however, the stripped-down ecosystem is dominated by
bacteria and jellyfish, which exhibit a reduced capacity to regulate flows of nutrients and energy.

Plastic Production

Technological development has led to the invention of new materials, such as plastics, that were
previously unknown to the planet. Many of these new materials are made up of chemical compounds
that can remain active in the environment for thousands of years and have lasting impacts on the
delicate regulatory cycles and ecosystems. Today, the world produces approximately 300 million tons of
plastics each year. About 20-40 percent of that ends up in landfills, and another 10-20 million tons makes
it way to the oceans, disrupting sea life. According to the World Watch Institute, “a recent study
conservatively estimated that 5.25 trillion plastic particles weighing a total of 268,940 tons are currently
floating in the world’s oceans.”

At high concentrations, these chemicals can disrupt animal endocrine systems, alter reproduction
patterns, and cause cancer. Organic pollutants and plastic-derived endocrine disruptors have been
discovered in low concentrations all over the world, even in areas where they’ve never been used, such
as Antarctica and at the bottom of the oceans. While the effects of low doses of these chemicals are less
understood, they are widespread stresses that ultimately change ecosystems. The damage to marine
ecosystems is estimated to be around $13 billion a year.