“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.
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.
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.
Through millions of years of evolution, well-balanced habitats have co-evolved to provide for the wide variety of species and their needs. Trees have adapted to weeds, weeds have adapted to the predation from herbivores, and so on up the food chain. Similar scenarios are seen throughout the world. Through the process of natural selection, specific species or broad species families will go extinct. However, these occurrences have largely been due to the natural flow and evolution of time. It wasn’t until recently that dominant species, such as humans, have taken the course of nature into their own hands.
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...
While Rachel Carson’s “The Obligation to Endure”, Christopher Kemp’s "Medieval Planet", and Jared Diamond’s “The Ends of the World as We Know Them” all cover subjects relating to environmental issues, each author goes about purveying his or her message in a different manner. Kemp’s New Scientist article explains humanity’s environmental effects by imagining a world in which we never existed and hypothesizing how it would look and function with our absence. Carson’s essay depicts a frightening reality about the current state of humanity and the environment. She warns readers about how we are the only species who possess the capability to disrupt and even destroy Earth’s natural patterns. Diamond articulates his work with an unusual spin, using examples of historical civilizations that have snuffed themselves out by their own progress or poor relationship with the environment. The main message conveyed in Diamond's essay is that we are just as capable of choking ourselves out by our own doing today as were the historical civilizations that suffered the same fate. Despite their differing focuses, each article agrees that humans are outgrowing the finite amount of resources that the Earth can provide. A delicate symbiotic relationship between life and the environment has been maintained throughout time. Life on Earth was shaped by the constantly changing climate and surroundings. However, humans have gained the capacity to transcend this relationship. Through our ingenuity and industrialism, we have separated ourselves from natural restrictions. Because of this progress, we have been destroying the natural cycles of Earth’s environment and continue to do so at an alarming rate. Humanity has become Earth’s infection, ravaging the worl...
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 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.
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
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.
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
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...
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.
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...
There are those that believe our planet has reached its maximum capacity to sustain humanity and we need to reduce our population to rectify it. It is also said that our planet is well capable of providing both the nutrition and caloric needs for humanity, both now and into the future as well. Regardless of where one’s opinion of the facts fall between these two arguments, global food security is not where it should be. Uneven development could be argued to be a cause of this. But it is not the only issue affecting the planet.