Many scientists consider humans as the most invasive species, as humans can greatly change an environment and impact living things that reside there. Are we being stewards of the world? Take a look at an issue in which human intervention has positively or negatively affected the biodiversity of our ecosystem.
The world has drastically changed over a great period of time. It does not look the way it looked before. The climates are changing, there isn't as much vegetation, there is too pollution. Pollution in the air, water, on the ground. One big issue that human intervention that has negatively affected the biodiversity of our ecosystem would be the pollution in the water.
The pollution in the water has gone from bad to worst. Constant oil spills in the ocean that goes into the little lakes and streams. Also toxic chemicals that are released into waterways as waste. This makes the chemical balance in the water change constantly. The chemicals can cause problems with the taste, odour and colour of the water. Animals can experience some difficulties with this. They can have reduced fertility, generic deformities, immune system damage, and death. This is also harmful for plants and even plants.
In the water there is now a high concentration of phosphors and nitrogen which comes from fertilizers. This enriches the nutrients, thus causing the plants in the water to bloom. When this happens it chokes off the oxygen supply that is shared with other organisms living in the water. When the plants die they decompose, which makes them use even more oxygen. This makes some animals die because of suffocation and bacterial activity decreases. Other sources contaminate groundwater are: fertilizers on agricultural land, pesticides on agricultural land and forest, contaminants in rain, snow, and dry atmosphere.
Acid rain is another cause of water pollution. The acid rain lowers the pH level of lakes and rivers. Which means that it makes the water more acidic. When this happens fish begin to die. Plants start to disappear. Acid rain can also harm humans. It frees the toxic metals and goes into the water
sources. These toxic metals will get into the drinking water supply and will contaminate those. If the water becomes too acidic it can wear away the water pipes. Toxic metals can be absorbed from water by fruits, vegetables, and in the tissues of animals. There are studies that explain how mercury that gather in the organs and tissues of animals has been linked to with brain damage in children, nerve disorders heart problems and death.
In conclusion, human has prevented the water to become very polluted. If this keeps up it will be hard to find good, fresh, reliable water. We should try to prevent this from happening.
Bibliography
"Ecosystems." The Marine Society & Sea Cadets.
"Freshwater Website: Groundwater contamination from a waste disposal site." Environnement Canada - Environment Canada.
"Freshwater Website: Water Pollution (Accelerated aquatic plant growth)." Environnement Canada - Environment Canada. 2008-07-24 .
http://www.ec.gc.ca/water/en/manage/poll/e_plant.htm
"Freshwater Website: Water Pollution (Leaking underground storage tanks and piping)." Environnement Canada - Environment Canada. 2008-07-24
3 comments:
Water pollution is definitely one of the major issues that humans have to face but I never thought about what you said about the plants blooming and restricting oxygen to the other organisms. It's interesting how one ecosystem directly effects another, so if we mess up the lakes or rivers or other bodies of water, through the water cycle the rest of the ecosystems in the region are harmed. It's also kinda scary how much the pollution of water by humans has effected everything. Scary to know that humans have so much power and that it's often not used properly.
"Caretakers of the World... Not Quite There Yet." I doubt we'll ever get there. See, the problem is we busy ourselves into many other unnecessary egocentric things to see the different dimensions of the more serious things going on around us. As you said, if we don't do anything about the water pollution we are the ones who were going to pay in the end, the same goes for land pollution, air pollution, global warming... the list goes on and on. I agree on the comment given earlier, too. I think it was Ben Parker who said, "With great power comes great responsibility". Obviously not everyone has watched/read Spiderman to learn this yet, huh?
Us, humans, are definitely not there yet. It was interesting to find out how fertilizers can affect the under water creatures. I also agree with you about the oil spillage. It is because of this, we realize that animals are also fragile.
Post a Comment