ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION :: essays research papers

ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTIONEfforts to improve the precedent of living for humans--through the control 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 substance wastes. Some places have become uninhabitable. This pollution exposes people all just about 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 point of accumulation or reverse the threat of environmental pollution. Ecology and Environmental alloy The branch of science that deals with how living things, including humans, are related 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 environ mental systems called ecosystems. The arctic tundra is an ecosystem and so is a Brazilian rain forest. The islands of Hawaii are a congenerly free 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 more stable than simple ecosystems. A field of corn has completely one dominant species, the corn plant, and is a very simple ecosystem. It is advantageously destroyed by drought, insects, disease, or overuse. A forest may stay on relatively unchanged by weather that would destroy a near field of corn, because the forest is characterized by greater diversity of plants and animals. Its complexity gives it stability. cosmos Growth and Environmental Abuse The reduction of the Earths resources has been closely linked to the acquire in human popul ation. For many thousands of years 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 increased dramatically. The problems of overcrowding multiply as an ever-increasing number of people are added to the worlds population each year. Air contaminationFactories and transportation depend on huge amounts of fuel--billions of tons of coal and oil color are consumed around the world every year. When these fuels burn they introduce green goddess and other, less visible, by-products into the atmosphere.