“Modern man does not experience himself as a part of nature but as an outside force destined to dominate and conquer it. He even talks of a battle with nature, forgetting that if he won the battle he would find himself on the losing side” (E.F. Schumacher, 1974). In his book ‘Small is Beautiful’, E.F. Schumacher contemplated the theory that during our battle with nature, alleged success for humans may in fact have unforeseen consequences, due to the complex relationship that humans and ecosystems possess. In 2005 the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) published a set of prominent reports, which indicated just how reliant humans are on natural ecosystems. They also demonstrated how we are destroying the planet’s biodiversity, along with the ecosystems upon which we depend. Over the past two centuries, the human population has become increasingly prosperous; nourishment has improved, the economy has developed and longevity has increased. From this, it is possible to conclude that man’s battle with nature is proving beneficial. However, the wellbeing and success of mankind greatly relies on ‘ecosystem services’, which comprise any benefits provided by ecosystems that contribute towards human life. These developments in wellbeing have partly been achievable because of the increased exploitation of these ecosystem services. As the world population grows and consumption per person increases, the demand for food is rising. To an extent, fossil fuels have made an increase in food production achievable, but the finite supply is rapidly depleting. Over the last 50 years, global food production has tripled (Mosier et al. 2004). Despite this, an estimated 870 million people were undernourished in 2010-2012 (FAO 2013) while in 2008, 5... ... middle of paper ... ... as the tropics, and there is evidence that higher species diversity reduces the risk of infectious diseases in humans. For these reasons, it is critical that genetic diversity is preserved. The majority of the evidence from both the MEA reports and other findings suggests that Schumacher’s theory was fairly accurate. If mankind attempts to conquer nature, he will most likely lose. The predominant pattern shows that in the short term, exploiting the planet’s ecosystem services has proved extremely beneficial for humans, increasing our quality of life in numerous ways. However, the long term predictions indicate that further exploitation at similar rates will have severe repercussions. We need to stop battling with nature and start cooperating. If the ecosystem services are utilised in a sustainable manner, we will retain the use of them for many years to come.
Humans are damaging the planet to live comfortably, we must change the way food is distributed worldwide, support local farmers and switch to a healthier diet in order to stop global warming. The current global has been getting better for us humans over the years, from eating bread and eggs 3 times a day in the XV century, now we can eat better than the kings of those times, however the much of the food in not healthy and the global food system still fails in getting food to every individual in the planet and in addition it contributes to the destruction of our world. Ms. Anna Lappe explains how the food system contributes to around 1/3 of the global warming issue in her essay “The Climate Crisis at the End of Our Fork”, while a group of Plos one explains the issues about the export and import of food growth over the last 50 years in the
Time and time again it has been seen that human interaction with his/her environment and it’s ecosystems has shown to be increasingly arrogant and self-serving. These endless accounts are proven by the amount of important biological diversity that is being lost to the surrounding environment due to these threats of human development and population growth. There are two forms of these losses of diversity by human hand: direct and indirect. Direct losses would be the destruction of an area needed for human requirements be it social or economical. Examples of these losses would be housing, agriculture, and others. Indirect losses would be those caused by the destruction of an area also needed for the same requirements but the area’s commodities which are valued, water, food, land in general, is needed elsewhere. These losses are few in number compared with those of direct losses yet they are of the greatest importance. They are important because they involve the removal of resources of an area in which other inhabitants are dependent upon. A great example of this regrettable indirect expansion is the loss of the rich habitat of the area known as Owens Valley.
The authors of this article are David Tilman and Jason Hill. David Tilman is a Regents Professor and McKnight Presidential Professor of Ecology at the University of Minnesota. Tilman is interested in “the benefits that society receives from natural and managed ecosystems and in the ways to assure environmental and social sustainability in the face of global increases in human consumption and population.” He has also written many scholarly articles and books on resource and plant competition and on biofuels. Tilman is very knowledgeable in his field of study; therefore, we can most certainly take his word for everything he talks about in this article.
In this article, “The Shadow of the Past” Clive Ponting, proclaims the vital importance for our modern global civilization and offers a provocative and illuminating view of human history and its relationship to the environment. Ponting points out that as our species increased in population, it had a direct effect on our environment and our ecosystems could not support our increasing number. He argues that human beings have repeatedly built societies that have grown and prospered by exploiting the Earth’s resources, only to expand to the point where these resources can no longer sustain the society’s population and subsequently collapsed. Ponting is trying to get across a point by saying that if humans continue to markedly use resources or create unnatural resources, the natural ecosystem will not be able to follow these changes and it will soon be destroyed. Agriculture is what caused our population to grow which lead to a greater population. As our population grew, the more land we needed to cultivate on, the more ecosystems we destroyed. Since agriculture is our most important res...
Nature is viewed as something to be conquered and controlled. It is to be turned against itself so that humanity may utilize nature in order to “use it to dominate wholly both it and human beings.”4 Just as humans are to be reduced to nothing more than their work, nature is to be nothing more than the raw material for that work. The mentality of domination contains the subjugation of both humanity and the rest of nature, and they must be assailed
The majority of this piece is dedicated to the author stating his opinion in regards to civilization expanding beyond its sustainable limits. The author makes it clear that he believes that humans have failed the natural environment and are in the process of eliminating all traces of wilderness from the planet. Nash points out facts that strengthen his argument, and quotes famous theologians on their similar views on environmental issues and policies. The combination of these facts and quotes validates the author’s opinion.
The ecosystems around the world are vital aspects of our everyday lives. Without the many resources and materials we harvest or use, life as we know it would be drastically different. In modern society, money is prioritized over essential benefits from nature. Due to this unfortunate truth, the stability of the environment has decreased on a global scale. Several of these issues include pollution, destruction of habitats, and causing species to go extinct due to events such as overfishing. Another human-caused problem is deforestation, particularly in the Amazon Rainforest.
There are many problems confronting our global food system. One of them is that the food is not distributed fairly or evenly in the world. According “The Last Bite Is The World’s Food System Collapsing?” by Bee Wilson, “we are producing more food—more grain, more meat, more fruits and vegetables—than ever before, more cheaply than ever before” (Wilson, 2008). Here we are, producing more and more affordable food. However, the World Bank recently announced that thirty-three countries are still famine and hungers as the food price are climbing. Wilson stated, “despite the current food crisis, last year’s worldwide grain harvest was colossal, five per cent above the previous year’s” (Wilson, 2008). This statement support that the food is not distributed evenly. The food production actually increased but people are still in hunger and malnutrition. If the food were evenly distributed, this famine problem would’ve been not a problem. Wilson added, “the food economy has created a system in w...
In the past 50 years, we have drastically changed the environment to meet our growing demands. These alterations are causing major problems in several ecosystems. Living unsustainably, changing natural order, and reversing the degradation of ecosystems are the three main problems we face.
The more one observes the world, the more one will realize that everything in this world is connected somehow. Everything and every one in this world, is part of one or more systems. An ecosystem is a complex set of relationships between living and non-living organism and their physical environment. Ecosystems vary in sizes and the living and non-living organisms that make them up. Ecosystems contain biotic factors such as plants, animals, and other organisms and also abiotic factors, such as rocks, temperature, and humidity (Coniferous Forest). Often times, ecosystems are divided into different categories based on climate patterns, soils types, and the animals and plants that inhibit them
Scientists have begun to say that we have to do more to protect our ecosystem, because our very existence is depending upon it. When the ecosystem is not functioning properly the continuation of plant, animal and human life ecosystems would be impossible. Life cycles can not function without ecosystems. The ecosystem provides us with clean air, water, habitats for fish and other services. They also aid in the mod...
Approximately 9 million types of plants, animals, protists and fungi inhabit the Earth. So, too, do 7 billion people. Two decades ago, at the first Earth Summit, the vast majority of the world’s nations declared that human actions were
One of the most complex issues in the world today concerns human population. The number of people living off the earth’s resources and stressing its ecosystem has doubled in just forty years. In 1960 there were 3 billion of us; today there are 6 billion. We have no idea what maximum number of people the earth will support. Therefore, the very first question that comes into people’s mind is that are there enough food for all of us in the future? There is no answer for that. Food shortage has become a serious problem among many countries around the world. There are many different reasons why people are starving all over the world. The lack of economic justice and water shortages are just merely two examples out of them all.
Biodiversity is so important that if any chain or link is disturbed then the whole system will come to a halt. Biodiversity also boosts ecosystem productivity and if it declines automatically our ecosystem also declines as both are interdependent upon each other, where all the species play an essential role in the way ecosystem functions, so local and global species loss could threaten the stability of the ecosystem services on which humans depend. This is an interesting topic as well as a global issue concerning the whole human civilization and their existence. . The said issue as well as many other issues regarding our natural processes cannot be neglected as our present and future depends entirely on the sustainability and growth of this ecosystem and biodiversity. Our ecosystem completely depends on the way biodiversity functions. This is the reason I have chosen this topic and gathered information about how it e...
The degradation of ecosystems and loss of biodiversity is increasing at an alarming rate every year. Humans are certainly not the only reason for this, but they are the main contributors. The well-being of ecosystems affects our everyday lives - consumption and consumerism depend on natural resources. Everything humans use is derived from them, in seemingly indirect and direct ways. Yet despite the fact that humans are destroying the environment, many continue to and neglect to take important measures to protect it.