Environmental Effects of the Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution and Its Effect on Nature When the Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain in the 1700’s and later spread to its surrounding countries, the effects that mass production and the ways in which production were fueled were not being looked at from an ecological viewpoint. The main focus of the Industrial Revolution was not to preserve the earth 's natural resources and the surrounding environment, but rather to speed up production so that in demand items were available in abundance and cheaper to the world 's consumers. The environmental damage caused by this revolution was not seen until around the 1800 's, and by that time most of the damage was already irreversible.
When the earth 's natural resources are depleted, the environment and the wildlife that inhabits it suffer greatly. Because of the increase in production that the Industrial Revolution spurred on, easily attainable fuel sources like wood were used in large amounts that had very significant impacts on the environment but were over looked because of the desire to speed up production at any cost. The dependence on this natural resource during this industrial time period became one of the largest causes of deforestation which not only affects the trees and the forest, but it also affects the wildlife that have made the forest their home. Deforestation ultimately leads to a lack of trees, which help to rid the air and water of the harmful pollutants and carbon emissions that factories put out into the environment. Without trees there is no clean air, and without clean air there can be no life.
Speaking of life, the Industrial Revolution caused a great increase in the worldwide population. While this may not necessarily sound like a huge problem, think of all the natural resources that factory production has already depleted and then think about our planet 's dependency on these limited resources to live. "Human population growth is indelibly tied together with increased
When the earth 's natural resources are depleted, the environment and the wildlife that inhabits it suffer greatly. Because of the increase in production that the Industrial Revolution spurred on, easily attainable fuel sources like wood were used in large amounts that had very significant impacts on the environment but were over looked because of the desire to speed up production at any cost. The dependence on this natural resource during this industrial time period became one of the largest causes of deforestation which not only affects the trees and the forest, but it also affects the wildlife that have made the forest their home. Deforestation ultimately leads to a lack of trees, which help to rid the air and water of the harmful pollutants and carbon emissions that factories put out into the environment. Without trees there is no clean air, and without clean air there can be no life.
Speaking of life, the Industrial Revolution caused a great increase in the worldwide population. While this may not necessarily sound like a huge problem, think of all the natural resources that factory production has already depleted and then think about our planet 's dependency on these limited resources to live. "Human population growth is indelibly tied together with increased
Cited: 1) http://ecoissues.com/TheIndustrialRevolutionandItsImpactonOur Environment.html 2) http://www.ecology.com/2011/09/18/ecological-impact-industrial-revolution/ 3) http://www.eh-resources.org/timeline/timeline_industrial.html