Resources Human Beings Use
The standards of living that human beings adore daily rely on the available natural resources within their environment. Apart from biotic and abiotic raw materials, humans use soil, air, water, land, and biodiversity as habitats and for leisure. Several elements exist in these natural resources, such as nitrogen, hydrogen, Carbon, Phosphorus, Oxygen, and Sulphur (Goudie, 2018). The elements exist in diverse chemical forms and also for long periods. Organic molecules components are frequently recycled and stored as part of their biogeochemical cycle. Carbon, an element of all macromolecules, is a significant component of fossil fuels. Nitrogen, a primary constituent of proteins and nucleic acid, is crucial to human agriculture, while phosphorus is essential in artificial fertilizers (Goudie, 2018). In addition, water, which consists of oxygen and hydrogen, is essential in all living processes and exists in different forms, including liquid, frozen, and vapor forms. Human activities such as deforestation and water drainage may impact those elements, bringing about the effect on natural resources, thus causing phenomena such as global warming.
Places Human Garbage Goes
The garbage produced by human beings undergoes different processes such as decomposition and recycling to be reused in the environment. Organic materials garbage such as leaves, food waste, and grass trimmings undergoes a decomposition process aided by bacteria present in the soil (Goudie, 2018). After composting, the waste is converted into nutrient-rich materials useful in gardens as soil enhancer fertilizer. The recycling process is of impact as it minimizes the amount of garbage going to waste facilities and reduces pollution. Hydrologic, Carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles are recycling processes of organic molecules that help convert waste elements into functional components in the environment.
Effect of Driving on the Environment
Driving is almost the most pollution activity that most individuals globally engage in during their daily activities. When driving, vehicles’ emissions contribute considerably to global warming and environmental pollution. The car exhaust emits nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons that react with sunlight, increasing the ground-level ozone (Goudie, 2018). It also emits carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide that enhances global warming, negatively impacting the environment. The compounds released by cars while driving may react with water in the atmosphere, causing acid rain affecting plants and animals.
Effect of Buying Food on the Environment
Purchasing food products means an individual does not practice agricultural activities; hence it has several impacts. Under such cases, some activities such as deforestation, water wastage, excess fertilizer run-off, and land-use change are rare since the individual depends on purchased foods. Therefore, that affects the environment by preventing activities such as soil erosion, pollution, and destruction of some ling things habitats (Goudie, 2018). On the other hand, buying foods minimizes some activities, including tree planting; hence some natural processes such as Carbon and nitrogen cycles will be reduced.
Human Activity Effect on the Natural Environment
Humans have had several impacts on the environment: desertification, deforestation, invasive species, overharvesting, and global warming. Deforestation is a result of clearing forests to establish plantations for large-scale farming and settlements due to the high rate of population increase (Goudie, 2018). Global warming is caused mainly by hydrocarbons and nitrogenous emissions from vehicles, factories, and other processing firms. Deforestation may lead to desertification, whereby a large portion of land is cleared; hence, trees that attract rainfall are cut down.
Minimizing Human Effect on the Environment
In the transport sector, in aid of minimizing hydrocarbons emissions, the transition of a mode of transport from road to rail and human-powered means is of great significance. Innovation of these new transport models will help reduce carbon emissions to the environment, reducing global warming risk (Goudie, 2018). Desertification can be minimized by reducing the clearing of bushes for farming and settlements. Alternatively, individuals may purchase foodstuffs from the market and look for low populated areas for settlements. By doing such, the environment will be safe from both deforestation and desertification.
Reference
Goudie, A. S. (2018). Human impact on the natural environment. John Wiley & Sons. (8th Ed.)