Effect of human activity on environment

Some human activity effects the environment 

1. Transportation
2. Mining
3. Industrilization
4. Cultivation or Agriculture
5. Housing

1) transportation

The growth of speedy transportation is man’s greatest achievement in minimizing distances but at the same time it has also become a cause of environmental degradation.

Air pollution: Transport is a major source of air pollution not only in developed but in developing countries also. Ecologists believe that the rapid increase in the number of vehicles on our roads, which has taken place without any real restriction, is fast devel­oping into an environmental crisis. 

land degradation:

Major impact of transport-related land loss and land use change may be a decline in the visual amenity or aesthetic attraction of the landscape. Visual impact may be essentially linear in nature for road, rail and inland waterway develop­ments, or nodal in character as with the large terminal installations of sea and airports.

The provision of land-based transport requires the direct utili­sation of land. Long strips of land are consumed, and large areas effectively divided into smaller ones (severance). Previous land uses, such as forestry, agriculture, housing and nature reserves, may be displaced, and zones adjacent to the new development rendered unsuitable for wide range of activities.

Land consumption is not just a direct consequence of transport development; it may also occur indirectly as land is utilised for the extraction of the raw materials (principally aggregate) required for construction. An average of 76,000 tonnes of aggregate is required per kilometre of road lane, and approximately 90 million tonnes of aggregates are used in the UK every year in the construction and repair of roads (Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, 1994).

Air pollution:

• Exhaust fumes are the major source of atmospheric pollution by the motor vehicle.
• Transportation make a consideration contribution to the green house effect.
• it is also primarily carbon di-oxide emission from transport that increasing and are  expected to increase  in the future.
• trucks used in shipping goods and services to these industries discharge toxic benzene and toluene from fuel oil.

effect on ecological system:

The degradation of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, as measured by indicators such as reduced habitat/species diversity, primary productivity or the areal extent of ecologi­cally valuable plant and animal communities, provides one of the most emotive aspects of the tension between transport development and environmental quality.

Severance is another direct consequence of land-based transport development. The physical division of natural or semi-natural ecosystems may inhibit the movement of animal and plant species across transport lines, and the associated reduction in size can threaten the viability and/or biodiversity of the smaller remnants. Likewise, the death of individual animals through collision with vehicles will be an all-too- familiar direct consequence of road transport for many readers. A recent report by Scottish Natural Heritage (1994) included a study, which put the annual road-kill loss of breeding amphibians in Scotland at 20-40 per cent, with an annual kill of barn owls of at least 3,000 individuals.

2) Mining

Mining is the extraction of minerals and other geological materials of economic value from deposits on the earth
It's effects on the environment including loss of biodiversity, erosion, contamination of surface water, ground water, and soil.

Cause of mining

• Population growth
• Product requirement increases
• For energy resources
• Due to industrilization

Effect of mining

• Aquatic organisms are affected by the mining industry by direct poisoning.
•  Affect the quality of air
• Contributing to illnesses related to the respiratory systems such as emphysema
• land degradation
• Water pollution is also caused by mining 
• Mining results in unnaturally high concentrations of chemicals such as mercury, arsenic and sulfuric acid
• damage the nearby diversity

Control majors

• Covering of mines hole
• Treatment of released waste water
• Management of released air from mines
• Reducing the requirement of non renewable source of energy

3) Industrialization

Constant air and water pollution are affecting the quality of human lives with its harmful pollutants. The rapid growth of industries are leaving harmful effects on the human life, by polluting water and air.  The air and water pollution are, thus, the main problems in the environment. The establishment of more industries increase the major difficulties of degrading the water and soil..

Cause of industrialization-

• growth of population- -People required more and more entertaining product for easy life.
• Demands of good product help to increase the number of industries.
• More people=more product=more industries
•  Agricultural revolution
• New inventions

effects of industrialization-

• The Greenhouse Effect-nitrogen oxides, methane, carbon dioxide and fluorinated gases are considered the primary greenhouse gases. High levels of these trap energy from the sun in the earth's lower atmosphere. This causes increasing average temperatures across the globe, greatly affecting climate patterns. Ice-cap and glacial melt, combined with thermal expansion of warming oceans, is predicted to cause significant sea-level rise by the end of the 21st century, flooding many low-lying coastal areas. Warming temperatures may also severely disrupt sensitive arctic ecosystems, contribute to increasing desertification and affect weather patterns that humans currently depend on for agriculture.
•  Air pollution: At present nearly 70% of the available water is polluted. Over 73 million days are lost annually due to water related diseases. About half a hectare of land is consumed every second. Life support systems inbuilt in the eco-system are being strained almost to the point of new return.trucks used in shipping goods and services to these industries discharge toxic benzene and toluene from fuel oil.
• Extraction. Industrialization makes use of resources - raw materials from the land, water, perhaps wood and plants, fossil fuels, etc. This has an effect on the environment, since demand for all these goes up, and more quantities are extracted from the land.
• Urbanization. Industrialization needs people to work in factories. So, people move from rural/agricultural areas, that are spread out, to industrialized cities, that are concentrated. A higher population puts added pressure on the local environment.
• Waste material. Industrialization produces a greater amount of waste, both directly as a result of production of goods, as well as the disposal of those goods once their purpose has been served. For example, if a factory makes plastic furniture, it produces waste plastic … and once the plastic furniture is worn, it is added to the rubbish pile too.
• Finally, there is a possible long term beneficial impact. Industrialization adds to the wealth of society, and makes a greater quantity of goods available at lower cost, thus uplifting the lives of many. If managed properly, with ill effects kept limited, this will allow humanity to have the resources to better manage the environment while having a high standard of living.

4) Agriculture

Agriculture has changed dramatically, especially since the end of World War II. Food and fiber productivity rose due to new technologies, mechanization, increased chemical use, specialization and government policies that favoured maximizing production. These changes allowed fewer farmers with reduced labour demands to produce the majority of the food and fiber. 

1. Land conversion & habitat loss
2. Wasteful water consumption
3. Soil erosion and degradation
4. water and soil Pollution
5. Climate change
6. Genetic erosion
7. Ecological imbalance
8. Deforestation

5) housing

As per population increasing rapidly, everyone must require a house to live in.

cause of housing

• Rapid increase in population growth

effect of housing

• Deforestation
• water problems
• land degrdation
• require more transportation
• water pollution and air pollution

solution of housing effects-

• control of population growth
• The fumes generated from appliances should move outside of the house through chimney.
• The volume of electronic appliances should be up to audible limit.
• The materials used for decoration or protection from mites etc should not reach directly to the water system.
• make houses ecofriendly 
• Eco-friendly appliances should be in use.
• Construction materials should not find their way to open atmosphere or water system.