Human consumption: and its effect on the environment Essay

The purlieu is a very central in valet tenders as it is basically all that surrounds us. Our surroundings is a complex phenomenon that consists of the climate, geographics and other(a) inherent resources in the environs. The human life basically depends on healthy produce and the balanced environmental conditions. The environment how ever so could chance upon globe physically spiritually and culturally. In nows ever growing society, it is important that we take c ar of our environment in separate to have a healthy and balanced environment. Humans are cognize to solely depend on earths resources such as oil, forests, body of water, vitality and others. These resources however, get limited in time and humans are kn admit to largely consume them.thither are some prejudicious and substantiative effects on the environment ca purposed by humans. In price of disallow effects, the depletion of the ozone layer, defilement and overconsumption are some examples of how hu mans affect the environment. However, on that point are some positive effects which benefits the environment such asconservation of wild life. The environment today, has been affected by various factors, which benefits the environment and negative factors, which damage the environment and cause severe damage to it. several(prenominal) discussions have been made on human consumptions and what effects they have on the environment.This es enounce will be set in three separate that will assess human consumption and the various ways in which it affectsthe environment. The first part of the essay will focus on the negative and positive effects human consumption has on the environment and secondly this essay will discuss over consumption of natural resources, and thirdly this essay will address various solutions in which to address this chore and help the environment and all of earths resources to give a more balanced and healthier environment.THE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF mank ind CONSUMPTION ON THE ENVIRONMENTAs mentioned earlier, there are some(prenominal) ways in which the environment is affected negatively by humans. unrivalled of these ways is through pollution. Pollution is basically regarded as unwanted substances that are denigrative and contaminating the environment. Pollution is a very important have sex when addressing the environments and its factors. There are various types of pollution, such as air pollution, water pollution, land pollution and others. Air pollution is when there are unwanted, harmful substances in the air which have poisonous effects. These substances are very life- terrorening and when ingested could cause diseases such as cancer and bronchitis, which are deadly to two man and animals alike. Pollutants are harmful chemical or physical substances released into the atmosphere, a water source, the soil or a component of the biosphere (Saier, 2006205) Particle pollutants when released in the air are very lethal, and cou ld cause severe damage to the human body.Air pollution does non solo affect humans entirely it also affects the environment, for example, the depletion of the ozone layer is caused by harmful toxins that are released into the air. Water pollution however, is the contamination of water bodies in the ecosystem such as rivers, lakes, oceans and others. This mostly occurs, when pollutants are released into the water bodies and this could be very dangerous to man, animals and other living creatures in the environment. Water much like air, is very needed in other for the environment to be balanced. Another example of pollution is land pollution which is the deposition of solid or liquid waste material on land. This is also very harmful to the environment, especially when the garbage disposed is not separated into re-usable and recyclable waste.Lands that are sullyd as a solvent of pollution are known to be very problematic to the human respiratory system. Pollution is a very serious matter that take to be taken into further considerations, especially since it is donemostly by humans. There is no question that humans are incapable of destroying the environment and although a lot has changed in the generation, much has not. Humans still contaminate their air, water supplies and land by disposing hazardous materials and thereby destroying natural habitats.It is important we take the matter of pollution seriously and decently take boot of our environment, because we still continue to populate the earth at an increasing rate. (Pierce et al., 1998) There also some positive factors of humans in our environment. These positive effects are very beneficial to the environment as it properly sets it in balance. One of the ways in which humans are impacting the environment positively is by protecting exist species. Nearly most endangered species are now creation bred in protective areas. Species such as the Chinese giant pandas is an example of endangered species that are carefully being bred in protective areas to keep them from going to extinct.OVERCONSUMPTION OF NATURAL RESOURCESOverconsumption of natural resources has perish a growing trend, especially in the industrialized nations. Overconsumption which is the act of using something to the excess is mostly done in western industrialized nations. The fatality of preventing environmentally disrupting effects of affluent consumption in modern industrial societies has been recently addressed in a vast body of literary works on sustainable consumption (Cogoy, 2010460)Natural resources such as materials, water and energy are very essential in the environment because they are the base of operations of our existence on earth. These resources are gradually decreasing due to humans constant consumption of these resources. Our climate is changing, species are becoming extinct, fish and forests are shrinking due to the damages that are imposed on our environment by humans. ..Overconsumption of natu ral resources is portrayed as a major threat to the sustainability of the worlds environmental systems. (Brown et al., 2000).Overconsumption which is regarded as the excessive used of goods and service is perceived as a means of personal happiness, status and success. However, in an environmental context, it is the excessive use of natural resources. It is known that humans today extract and use more 50% more natural resources than alone 30 years ago. This consumption from humans, is a way of trying to purport to achieve happiness through the use of goods produced from materials that are deemed plentiful and resourceful. (The European Environment SOER, 2010).There are ways in which we can countermand over consumption of natural resources in nightspot to continue to thrive on earth. These ways include changing our lifestyles and making it more sustainable so that we are able to protect our ecosystem and natural resources. It is important we measure up the problem of overconsumpt ion and start a debate about resource use and its environmental impacts around the world. If humans were to continually consume resources wastefully, in order to follow self-interested motives, then natural resources in the environment would be minify and future consumption will be undermined and resources are very seeming to slowly deplete.SolutionsAsserting that human influence on the planet has increase faster than human population, Joel Cohen elaborated on the concept of human carrying capacity. though carrying capacity is ultimately determined by natural constraints, Cohen stressed the spot of human choices about lifestyle and consumption in determining how many an(prenominal) people the earth can sustain within those constraints. Emphasizing the position of sparings, Donald Ludwig contended that the real problem with human population growth is not biological, hardly societal. Ludwig asserted that a fundamental conflict exists between economics and environmental scienc e economists believe growth to be essential, leading to increased consumption, while ecologists say growth is inherently limited.Reaffirming Ludwigs opinion about the importance of economics, William Rees introduced the concept of the ecological footprint, a model that puts the economy inside the ecosphere, intrinsically high-flown limits on growth based on availability of resources. The ecological footprint recognizes the interplay of economics and ecology by measuring not just the natural resources a place uses of its own, but those consumed from other countries. Though it is Gretchen Dailys opinion that people have difficulty looking beyond their own discipline for solutions, she stressed the importance of crossing both societal and economic boundaries in exploring the issue of human population growth. Daily believes that not only essential scientists cooperate with others, but cooperation within the sciences is essential scientists worldwide must begin to share information.Bib liographyCogoy, M. (2010). Consumption, time and the environment. Review of Economics of the Household, 8(4), 459-477.Saier, M. (2006). Pollution. environmentalist, 26(3), 205-209.Peirce, J., Weiner, Ruth F, Vesilind, P. Aarne, & ScienceDirect. (1998.). Environmental Pollution and Control. Burlington Butterworth-Heinemann.Brown, Paul M, & Cameron, Linda D. (2000). What can be done to reduce overconsumption? bionomical Economics, 32(1), 27-41.