We explain what environmental transformation is, with multiple examples. Also, its positive and negative consequences.
What is environmental transformation?
Environmental transformation or transformation of the environment It is the process of change imposed on the natural environment by the presence and activities of human beings. This transformation can occur in different ways, but when it has a negative or impoverishing effect on the environment it is known as environmental degradation. The opposite of this type of transformation is environmental conservation.
Human beings are part of the environment, as do all living beings. But unlike the rest, the human way of life has a great impact on the ecosystem, given that is capable of quickly and drastically transforming one's own living conditions and those of the rest of the species. In fact, it has been doing so since the beginning of civilization, which is why many scholars propose baptizing our geological period as the “anthropocene” (that is, the era of the human being).
The satisfaction of human needs (such as food, heat, shelter, energy, etc.) normally occurs at the expense of environmental balance. Unlike other species, the human being is not subject to the logic of the food chain, nor to the rigors of biological adaptation to the environment, but rather proceeds the other way around: Transform the environment to suit your needs. For example, through electricity, human beings illuminate the night to be able to take advantage of it.
This transformation, of course, has consequences, both on the rest of the species of living beings, and on the environment that human beings share with them. Thus, new environmental conditions are imposed, forcing species to alter the way they live. But unlike natural events that can cause the same ecological effect (volcanoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, among others), the changes introduced by humans are increasingly larger in scale and more frequent.
Hence it is often noted that humanity's current way of life is not sustainable, that is, it is not sustainable over time.
See also: Environmental education
How do humans modify the environment?
Since the beginning of civilization, human beings have modified their natural environment in different ways, always aiming to build a less hostile environment, more suitable to satisfy their needs. This involves, among others, actions such as:
- Modify the earth's surface (build cities, erect dams, drain swamps)
- Disrupt or control certain natural systems (control fire, alter atmosphere)
- Change the natural course of species (domesticate and extinct animals, or introduce them to a new habitat)
- Create non-existent materials (paving, plastics), among others.
In this fight against the natural order, the human being has had an important ally in science and technology especially in recent centuries. Knowledge of the natural order and the development of tools capable of altering it have allowed human beings to achieve great feats, such as exploring outer space, manipulating atomic energy or extending the life expectancy of the species to almost triple what it was originally. But, in the same way, they have caused the extinction of other species, the destruction of entire habitats and the contamination of substances essential for life such as water and air.
Consequences of the transformation of the natural landscape
From an ecological point of view, the consequences of the transformation of the natural landscape can be studied in two sets: the positive or beneficial consequences and the negative or harmful consequences. The difference between them is that the former benefit humanity as a whole, while the latter constitute a danger to the species itself or to life in general.
| Positive or beneficial consequences | Negative or harmful consequences |
|---|---|
| A safer environment for humanity, without the presence of large predators, nor the action of natural elements (rain, wind, sun). | Destruction of natural habitats due to deforestation, mining and increase in urban sprawl. |
| Simple production of a large amount of food for humans, which increases the longevity of the species and its reproduction rate. | Extinction of species and reduction of biodiversity due to habitat destruction, overexploitation, disruption of the food chain or introduction of invasive species. |
| Obtaining new materials with which to make new tools, obtain new knowledge and achieve new civilizational milestones. | Pollution of air, water and soil, with harmful effects on the health of living beings, including humans. |
| Greater possibilities for scientific and technological development, and therefore greater possibility of finding solutions for the rest of the problems caused by human beings. | Dramatic increase in world population and endless need for new resources. |
Examples of environmental transformation
The following are some of the main examples of environmental transformation by human intervention:
- The adoption of agriculture. During the Neolithic, humans discovered that they could cultivate the plant species that supported them, instead of going into the jungle to collect their fruits, and domesticated different species to ensure sustenance. Since then, agriculture has grown in demand and possibilities, which has meant the cutting down of forests and jungles to allocate the land to growing food. Therefore, the increase in crop area implies the destruction of habitats and the depletion of soil organic resources, which is why different fertilization and preparation techniques are often required to continue with the harvest.
- The expansion of cities. The city is a completely artificial and planned environment, whose existence in the history of the planet is due entirely to the preferences of human beings. Since the Industrial Revolution at the end of the 18th century, cities have become the species' favorite place to live, and therefore their dimensions have not stopped growing, devouring other types of habitat in their path and considerably increasing the impact. of its presence in the contamination of water, soil and air.
- Overexploitation of some species. Through indiscriminate hunting and fishing and other forms of overexploitation, humans have driven numerous species to extinction in order to use their skins to make clothing, the ivory from their tusks to make musical instruments, or parts of their bodies for gastronomic recipes. The disappearance of these species has a considerable impact on their respective food chains.
- Destruction of the ozone layer. During the second half of the 20th century, the indiscriminate use for industrial and domestic purposes of organic gases rich in chlorine, fluorine and bromine led to the weakening of the ozone layer that exists in the atmosphere and protects the planet from the direct action of the solar radiation. Although the prohibition of the use of these gases allowed the recovery of the lost ozone decades later, it is considered a typical case of environmental deterioration due to human causes.
- Gold mining and its impact on aquatic ecosystems. The mining of gold, considered the precious metal par excellence, is one of the most damaging economic activities for the environment, given that large quantities of mercury are used to dilute gold and extract it from the minerals in which it is found. This highly toxic metal ends up in rivers, lakes and wastewater, poisoning them and making them lethal to humans and other species. This practice, abandoned by large mining companies, continues to be used by illegal miners, as is the case of garimpeiros Brazilians in the South American Amazon.
- The greenhouse effect and climate change. Since the Industrial Revolution, humans have released tons of carbon-rich organic gases into the atmosphere, such as methane and carbon dioxide, among others, produced during the burning of fossil fuels in automobiles, power plants, and many others. economic activities. These gases in the atmosphere act as a barrier that retains heat and therefore increases the temperature of the planet, accelerating natural thaw cycles and generating a long list of environmental alterations: polar melting and rising water levels. , ocean acidification, the production of extreme climate phenomena, among others.
- Plastic pollution. Plastics, chemical derivatives of petroleum, are indispensable materials in the modern post-industrial way of life, whose impact on the ecosystem, however, is terrible. The contamination of soils and seas with non-biodegradable plastics, which decompose into small particles but at the same time cannot be naturally reincorporated into the ecosystem, is one of the great contemporary ecological problems. Plastic particles can already be found in large quantities in the sea (for example, in the Great Pacific Plastic Spot), inside the species on which we feed and, therefore, inside the human body itself.
- The construction of dikes, reservoirs and dams. By modifying the course of rivers, humans can produce artificial lakes for recreation, obtaining fresh water or generating electricity through hydroelectric plants. In doing so, it drastically modifies the environment, creating reservoirs where there were none and drying out other regions that previously had good irrigation.
Continue with: Environmental impact
References
- “Environment” on Wikipedia.
- “Environmental change, nature and the new world” by Walter A. Pengue at the Heinrich Böll Foundation.
- “Environmental problems and the transformation of the landscape” in ABC (Paraguay).
- “Environmental Transformation and Degradation” at Wachemo University.
