COMMENTS

  1. Could humans really destroy all life on Earth?

    And each of these have taken a devastating toll on our planet's life in the past. Yet, unknown to many people, a new global threat capable of destroying life itself is brewing in the shadows of ...

  2. Humans are causing life on Earth to vanish

    As a result, humans have directly altered at least 70% of Earth's land, mainly for growing plants and keeping animals. These activities necessitate deforestation, the degradation of land, loss of biodiversity and pollution, and they have the biggest impacts on land and freshwater ecosystems. About 77% of rivers longer than 1,000 kilometres no ...

  3. How we're harming the planet—and ourselves

    Human-caused changes in the global environment, such as deforestation and air pollution, are increasingly threatening our own health and well-being, according to Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health's Samuel Myers.. In an interview on the NPR radio show "Living on Earth" that aired the week of November 27, 2020, Myers—principal research scientist, planetary health, at Harvard Chan ...

  4. Destruction of nature is as big a threat to humanity as climate change

    Destruction of nature is as big a threat to humanity as climate change. We are destroying nature at an unprecedented rate, threatening the survival of a million species - and our own future, too ...

  5. Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change

    The first suggestion to Rafe Pomerance that humankind was destroying the conditions necessary for its own survival came on Page 66 of the government publication EPA-600/7-78-019.

  6. Our Fragile Earth: How Close Are We to Climate Catastrophe?

    Let's jump back 10 million years before the PETM to 65 million years ago. An enormous asteroid struck the Earth, shrouding the planet in dust, which rapidly cooled its surface, killing the land ...

  7. We're Destroying the Planet in Ways That Are Even Worse Than Global

    Steffen said direct human influence upon the land was contributing to a loss in pollination and a disruption in the provision of nutrients and fresh water. "We are clearing land, we are ...

  8. Human Impacts on the Environment

    Humans impact the physical environment in many ways: overpopulation, pollution, burning fossil fuels, and deforestation. Changes like these have triggered climate change, soil erosion, poor air quality, and undrinkable water. These negative impacts can affect human behavior and can prompt mass migrations or battles over clean water. Help your students understand the impact humans have on the ...

  9. The planet is dying faster than we thought

    If current trends continue, as many as 1 million of Earth's 7 million to 10 million plant and animal species could face extinction in the near future, according to the new paper. Such an enormous ...

  10. Humans Are Speeding Extinction and Altering the Natural World at an

    The report is not the first to paint a grim portrait of Earth's ecosystems. But it goes further by detailing how closely human well-being is intertwined with the fate of other species.

  11. Human progress is no excuse to destroy nature. A push to make 'ecocide

    In the same way, the definition of ecocide should recognise that acts which destroy biological diversity, and lead to species extinction, threaten the very nature and survival of Earth's multi ...

  12. Humans Destroying Ecosystems: How to Measure Our Impact on the Environment

    According to the United Nations, humanity is currently destroying an average of 10 million hectares of forest every year. According to a 2020 study published in One Earth, 1.9 million km2 of previously undisturbed terrestrial ecosystems — an area the size of Mexico — were highly modified by human activity between 2000 and 2013 alone. The ...

  13. Here's How Bad a Nuclear War Would Actually Be

    A recent scientific paper estimates that over 5 billion people could starve to death, including around 99% of those in the US, Europe, Russia, and China - because most black carbon smoke stays ...

  14. 11 important ways that humans impact the Earth's environment

    8. Overfishing is severe for the environment. Pollution is the number one threat to all aquatic life and is the leading cause of reduced biodiversity. This is sad, given that water and water life ...

  15. Human Impact on Environment

    Human Impact on Environment Essay. Ecological problem is one of the most important issues nowadays. Human activities have a negative impact on the environment. Humanity currently faces problems with air, water, and lands pollution, unreasonable agricultural systems, deforestation, and others. As a result, the number of available natural ...

  16. Worried about Earth's future? Well, the outlook is worse than even

    Consumption, as a percentage of Earth's capacity to regenerate itself, has grown from 73% in 1960 to more than 170% today. High-consuming countries like Australia, Canada and the US use multiple ...

  17. Why We're Destroying the Earth

    Why We're Destroying the Earth The ways we unconsciously hurt the environment. By Robert Gifford published March 1, 2000 - last reviewed on June 9, 2016

  18. We Are Destroying Our Planet Essay

    8 Pages. Open Document. Everyday we are destroying our planet. Global warming is one of the biggest problems in humanity. Our society has to take immediate action in order to survive there is not much time left as we continue to grow with this problem at this rate. The increase of global warming is getting out of control.

  19. What is the human impact on biodiversity?

    Key areas of human activity causing biodiversity loss include: Deforestation. Tropical rainforests are particularly rich in biodiversity and are being destroyed. Habitat loss through pervasive, incremental encroachment such as that caused by urban sprawl. Pollution such as that associated with widespread pesticide use and overuse of fertiliser ...

  20. Here's how the world could end—and what we can do about it

    In a dingy apartment building, insulated by layers of hanging rugs, the last family on Earth huddles around a fire, melting a pot of oxygen. Ripped from the sun's warmth by a rogue dark star, the planet has been exiled to the cold outer reaches of the solar system. The lone clan of survivors must venture out into the endless night to harvest ...

  21. Facts about the nature crisis

    We are experiencing a dangerous decline in nature and humans are causing it: We are using the equivalent of 1.6 Earths to maintain our current way of life and ecosystems cannot keep up with our demands. (Becoming Generation Restoration, UNEP) One million of the world's estimated 8 million species of plants and animals are threatened with extinction. (IPBES) 75 percent of the Earth's land ...

  22. We have to stop destroying nature

    Earth system scientists and researchers predict that if current rates of nature destruction continue unabated, some biomes (e.g. tundra, grasslands, coral reefs, forests, deserts) may cross irreversible tipping points. For example, nearly 17% of forest cover in the Amazon has been destroyed since 1970. If the rate of forest loss continues, and ...

  23. Why we'll succeed in saving the planet from climate change

    We already have the knowledge and technology we need to feed a larger population, provide energy for all, begin to reverse climate change, and prevent most extinctions. The public desire for ...