Humans: How We Are Destroying the World Around Us
Dave Hennesey
Mr. Gregg
AP Chemistry
2 February 2005
Humans: How We Are Destroying the World Around Us This generation and also future ones will suffer because of this, and us humans are mostly to blame. What are humans responsible for? We are responsible for endangering the nature and health of our ecosystems. One way we damage our ecosystem is by polluting the environment. Everyday millions of people use automobiles, trains, and airplanes to travel. This begs the question- how is this affecting the ecosystem? Pollution affects the ecosystem in many ways. One being oxides of nitrogen causes such things as acid rain, which reduces the pH value of soil. Another way is soil can become infertile for plants. In result of this it will affect other organisms in the food web. The last way is smog and haze reduces needed sunlight obtained by plants to carry out photosynthesis. < www.nationalgeographic.com > Another reason why humans are to blame is the affects of the majority of our society not recycling. When we ignore recycling, it hugely affects our ecosystem. It hurts our forests especially because half of the earth's forests are already gone, and most of the original forest area has been cut down. Animal's habitats and biodiversity as a whole are damaged also. When we do not recycle wetlands, rivers, and other places vital to wildlife are also reduced. Also, we become very dependant on landfills. Landfills are packed full of toxic pollutions ranging from cyanide to mercury to even methane. Not recycling even induces global warming. It increases the energy used in manufacturing processes dramatically, and it adds to greenhouse gases. < www.wikipedia.org > There are several ways each of us can do our part to help resolve this problem. One technique is to recycle regular household items. These items can include: newspapers, glass bottles, batteries, plastic, metal cans, and even cellular phones. Another step you can take to recycle is when
Mr. Gregg
AP Chemistry
2 February 2005
Humans: How We Are Destroying the World Around Us This generation and also future ones will suffer because of this, and us humans are mostly to blame. What are humans responsible for? We are responsible for endangering the nature and health of our ecosystems. One way we damage our ecosystem is by polluting the environment. Everyday millions of people use automobiles, trains, and airplanes to travel. This begs the question- how is this affecting the ecosystem? Pollution affects the ecosystem in many ways. One being oxides of nitrogen causes such things as acid rain, which reduces the pH value of soil. Another way is soil can become infertile for plants. In result of this it will affect other organisms in the food web. The last way is smog and haze reduces needed sunlight obtained by plants to carry out photosynthesis. < www.nationalgeographic.com > Another reason why humans are to blame is the affects of the majority of our society not recycling. When we ignore recycling, it hugely affects our ecosystem. It hurts our forests especially because half of the earth's forests are already gone, and most of the original forest area has been cut down. Animal's habitats and biodiversity as a whole are damaged also. When we do not recycle wetlands, rivers, and other places vital to wildlife are also reduced. Also, we become very dependant on landfills. Landfills are packed full of toxic pollutions ranging from cyanide to mercury to even methane. Not recycling even induces global warming. It increases the energy used in manufacturing processes dramatically, and it adds to greenhouse gases. < www.wikipedia.org > There are several ways each of us can do our part to help resolve this problem. One technique is to recycle regular household items. These items can include: newspapers, glass bottles, batteries, plastic, metal cans, and even cellular phones. Another step you can take to recycle is when
Bibliography: Coral Reef. February 24, 2005. MSNBC. March 14, 2007. < www.newsweek.com > Gore, Al, per. Guggenheim, Davis, dir. An Inconvenient Truth. 2006. Paramount Home Video. Hazy Summer Days and Air Pollution. July 27, 2004. National Geographic Society. March 14, 2007. < www.nationalgeographic.com > Natural resource. October 25, 2005. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. March 15, 2007. < www.wikipedia.org > Recycling. November 16, 2006. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. March 14, 2007. < www.wikipedia.org >