The anthropogenic impacts
on the environment include impacts on biophysical environments, biodiversity
and other resources. The term anthropogenic designates an effect or object
resulting from human activity. The term is sometimes used in the context of
pollution emissions that are produced as a result of human activities but
applies broadly to all major human impacts on the environment. These human
activities have brought a lot of impacts on our environment. These impacts lead
global warming, climate change and depletion of ozone layer. The rainy patterns
are changing and droughts in some places such as southern part of Zambia because
of these effects. In this just ended farming season we had poor rainy pattern
in places such as sinazongwe which has brought a call to the government to
intervene by providing relief food. These are just some of the outcomes of
impacts of human activities.
SOME
OF THE CAUSES OF THESE IMPACTS
Technology
The application of
technology often results in unavoidable environmental impacts, for example
given that the purpose of many technologies is to exploit, control, or
otherwise improve upon nature for the perceived benefit of mankind while at the
same time the myriad of processes in nature have been optimized and are
continually adjusted by evolution, any disturbance of these natural processes
by technology. This results in negative environmental consequences. Technology
has reached an advanced stage in terms of manufacturing products. These operations
results in emissions of different gases which affects our environment.
Agriculture
The environmental
impact of agriculture varies based on the wide variety of agriculture practices
employed around the world. Agriculture causes the water pollution in the rural
streams due to runoff from farming activity. Agriculture has been shown to
produce significant effects on climate change, primarily through the production
and release of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous
oxide by also by altering the earth’ land cover, which can change its ability
to absorb or reflect heat and light, thus contributing to radiative forcing.
Land use change such as deforestation and desertification together with use of
fossil fuels, are the major anthropogenic sources of carbon dioxide;
agriculture itself is the major contributor to increasing methane and nitrous
oxide concentrations in earth’s atmosphere.
The use of inorganic fertilizers and
pesticides kills the diversity of arthropods which helps in maintaining our ecosystem
health. The environmental impact of pesticides is often greater than what is
intended by those who use them. Over 98% of sprayed insecticides and 95% of
herbicides reach a destination other than their target species, including no
target species, air, water bottom sediments and food. Pesticides contaminates
land and water when it escapes from production sites and storage tanks, when it
runs off from fields, when it is discarded, when it is sprayed aerially, and
when it is sprayed into water to kill algae. The amount of pesticides that’s
migrates from the intended application area is influenced by the particular
chemicals properties: its propensity for binding to soil, its vapor pressure,
its water solubility and its resistance to being broken down over time. Factors
in the soil, such as its texture, its ability to retain water, and the amount
of organic matter contained in it, also affects the amount of pesticide that
will leave the area. Some pesticides contribute to global warming and the
depletion of the ozone layer.
Fishing
The environmental
impact of fishing can be divided into issues that involve the availability of
fish to be caught, such as overfishing, sustainable fisheries and fisheries
management; and issues that involve the impact of fishing on other elements of
the environment, such as by-catch. These conservation issues are part of marine
conservation and are addressed in fisheries science programs. There is a
growing gap between how many fish are available to be caught and humanity’s
desire to catch them. A problem that gets worse as the world population grows.
Similar to other environmental issues, there can be conflict between the
fishermen who depends on fishing for their livelihoods and fisheries
departments who realize that if future fish populations are to be sustainable
then some fisheries must reduce or even close
Mining
The environmental
impact of mining includes erosion, formation of sinkholes, and loss of
biodiversity and contamination of soil, groundwater and surface water by
chemicals from mining processes. In some cases, additional forest logging is
done in the vicinity of mines to increase the available room for the storage of
the created debris and soil. Besides creating environmental damage, the contamination
resulting from leakage of chemicals also affects the health of local
population. Mining companies in some countries are required to follow
environmental and rehabilitation codes, ensuring the area mined is returned to
close to its original state. We saw a lot of mining companies such as Mopani
embarking on reforestation during this year’s world environmental week. Some
mining methods may have significant environmental and public health effects.
Some environmental
impact of the coal industry includes the consideration of issues such as land
use, waste management and water and air pollution caused by the coal mining,
processing and the use of its product. In addition to atmospheric pollution,
coal burning produces hundreds of millions of tons of solid waste products
annually, include fly ash, bottom ash and flue-gas desulfurization sludge, that
contain mercury, uranium, thorium, arsenic and other heavy metals. There are
severe health effects caused by burning coal. According to the reports issued
by the world health organization in 2008 and by environmental groups in 2004,
coal particulates pollution is estimated to shorten approximately 1,000,000
lives annually worldwide.
These mining activities
such as open pit mining require large amounts of water for coal or any other
minerals preparation plants and dust suppression. To meet this requirement
mines acquire surface or groundwater supplies from nearby agriculture or
domestic users, which reduces the productivity of these operations or halts
them. These water resources (once separated from their original environment)
are rarely returned after mining, creating permanent degradation in agriculture
productivity. These mining activities requires a large area of land, methods
such as strip mining severely alters the landscape, which reduces the value of
the natural environment in the surrounding land. If mining is allowed, resident
human populations must be resettled of the mine site and eliminates existing
vegetation, destroys the soil profile, displaces or destroys wildlife and
habitat.
Paper
The environmental
impact of paper is significant, which has led to changes in industry and
behavior at both business and personal levels. With the use of modern
technology such as the printing press and the highly mechanized harvesting of
wood, paper has become a cheap commodity. This has led to a high level of
consumption and waste. With the rise in environmental organizations and with
increased government regulation there is now a trend towards sustainability in
the pulp and paper industry.
Topsoil
loss
The industrialization
of agriculture during the last 150 years, specifically the wide-spread use of
fossil fuel powered farm machinery for plowing, has resulted in massive topsoil
loss. Soils are currently lost at the rate of the of inches per decade while it
takes hundreds of years for one inch of new topsoil to form. Worldwide about
one third of arable land has been lost due to erosion.
Transport
Technology is growing
at a high rate, and this has seen the coming of new versions of cars at an
affordable prices. Also due to the competition of car production companies,
prices are normally brought down to attract more customers. The increase in the
number of cars has impacted significantly because cars are major user of
energy, and burns most of the world’s petroleum. This creates air pollution,
including nitrous oxides and particulates and is a significant contributor to
global warming through emission of carbon dioxide, for which transport is the
fastest-growing emission sector.
Measures should be
taken to at least reduce this causes, this not a call for the government but
every individuals in this planet. Interested individuals, stakeholders, NGOs and
society should work together in trying to find way in reducing these problems
arisen from human activities but the government as the mother board should
spear head this policies. Cars emits a lot carbon dioxide which contributes
much to global warming, this can be at least reduced by diverting from road
transport to railway. The current government has pumped resources in the Zambia
railway line trying to revamp the services offered by Zambia railway. Trying to
reduce carbon emissions from road transport and congestions.
Mining companies should embark on
reforestation programs as major causes of deforestation and air pollution. Also
practicing sustainable agriculture, the ministry of agriculture under research
department has been working and sensitizing the public on the benefit of
sustainable agriculture.
Share with us your experiences, comments and
recommendations. Send emails to wildlifemgtsociety@gmail.com OR brysonsompa@yahoo.com
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