So what is actually happening because of us?

What damage can be measured is the natural resources, which are under a great amount of pressure, which threatens public health and development. There are water shortages, soil exhaustion, deforestation, air and water pollution and the degradation of coastlines (Hinrichsen. D, Robey. B)

What is happening in the environment is that nature cannot handle whats being taken out and then being returned as pollution. It is starting to effect the health of humans, “Unclean water, along with poor sanitation, kills over 12 million people each year, most in developing countries. Air pollution kills nearly 3 million more. Heavy metals and other contaminants also cause widespread health problems.”

Populations are also growing faster than food supplies, this causes mass slaughters of animals, sometimes cruel, to provide for the ever growing populations.

Taking that into account, arable land is also becoming scarce because of deforestation and erosion. “Population pressures have degraded some 2 billion hectares of arable land — an area the size of Canada and the U.S.” (Hinrichsen. D, Robey. B)

The supply of freshwater is finite, but demand is soaring as population grows and use per capita rises. By 2025, when world population is projected to be 8 billion, 48 countries containing 3 billion people will face shortages.

High population densities and urban development pressure half of all coastal ecosystems. A tide of pollution is rising in the world’s seas. Ocean fisheries are being overexploited, and fish catches are down.

Nearly half of the world’s original forest cover has been lost, and each year another 16 million hectares are cut, bulldozed, or burned. Forests provide over US$400billion to the world economy annually and are vital to maintaining healthy ecosystems. Yet, current demand for forest products may exceed the limit of sustainable consumption by 25%.

The earth’s surface is warming due to greenhouse gas emissions, largely from burning fossil fuels. If the global temperature rises as projected, sea levels would rise by several meters, causing widespread flooding. Global warming also could cause droughts and disrupt agriculture.