ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION :: essays research papers

ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTIONEfforts to improve the standard of living for humans--through the take for of nature and the development of new products--have also resulted in the pollution, or contamination, of the environment. Much of the worlds air, water, and land is now partially poisoned by chemical wastes. Some places have constrain uninhabitable. This pollution exposes people all around the globe to new risks from disease. Many species of plants and animals have become endangered or are now extinct. As a result of these developments, governments have passed laws to limit or reverse the threat of environmental pollution. Ecology and Environmental Deterioration The branch of science that deals with how living things, including humans, are colligate to their surroundings is called ecology . The Earth supports some 5 million species of plants, animals, and microorganisms. These interact and influence their surroundings, forming a vast network of interrelated environmental systems call ed ecosystems. The arctic tundra is an ecosystem and so is a Brazilian rain forest. The islands of Hawaii are a relatively isolated ecosystem. If left undisturbed, natural environmental systems tend to achieve balance or stability among the various species of plants and animals. Complex ecosystems are able to compensate for changes caused by weather or intrusions from migrating animals and are therefore usually said to be to a greater extent stable than simple ecosystems. A field of corn has only one dominant species, the corn plant, and is a very simple ecosystem. It is easily destroyed by drought, insects, disease, or overuse. A forest may remain relatively unchanged by weather that would destroy a nearby field of corn, because the forest is characterized by greater diversity of plants and animals. Its complexity gives it stability. Population Growth and Environmental Abuse The reduction of the Earths resources has been closely linked to the rise in human population. For many thou sands of old age people lived in relative harmony with their surroundings. Population sizes were small, and life-supporting tools were simple. Most of the energy needed for work was provided by the worker and animals. Since about 1650, however, the human population has change magnitude dramatically. The problems of overcrowding multiply as an ever-increasing number of people are added to the worlds population each year. Air PollutionFactories and transportation depend on huge amounts of fuel--billions of tons of blacken and oil are consumed around the world every year. When these fuels burn they introduce smoke and other, less visible, by-products into the atmosphere.