The Anthropocene Era: Human Impact on the Environment | Essays (university) History of Economic Thought

1. Anthropocene is the time frame that the specifies the age from which

Human activities have brought impact (usually negative) to the

environment.

It says more on the environmental effects human innovations or

breakthroughs have led throughout time. During the Iron Age, when axe

became sharper, slashing down forest for settlement was faster than before.

This marked the beginning of depletion of forests because of human activities.

Most settlements happened near rivers. Harappan civilization happened

surrounding Indus river, Egyptian on the Nile, Chinese on Huang He (yellow

river), Indian on the Ganges, and many more. It is said that the course of the

river and its ecosystem have been disrupted because of human settlements

around it for agriculture. Moreover, some even claim that the Sahara Desert

was a lush green forest, but human settlement led to its desertification.

Over the years, settlements were becoming larger and larger. Villages grouped

to form kingdoms. The powerful ones conquered the rest to form empires.

Humans wanted control over resources. In doing so, they spent on maintaining

an army, where mining iron accelerated to make more weapons and animals

like horses and elephants were used as cavalries.

Settlements, wars and change in power went on till the advent of the Industrial

revolution. Human productivity increased. More goods were being produced. A

new capitalist class were being formed, whose main intent were to earn profits

and have control over resources.

This was the time when extraction of raw materials was procured by

converting jungles into mines and plantations. Hunting became a leisure sport

for the rich. With the invention of guns and jeeps, animals were killed for sport

to a larger extent.

It was during this time that many animals faced mass extinction. The

environment started to degrade every day at a faster rate.

Factories were emitting enormous amounts of greenhouse gasses. Industrial

waste was being disposed in water bodies. For research purposes, medicines

and cosmetics were tried and tested on animals. Humans had started to

progress faster, but at the cost of the environment.

Even in the Indian context, when India started gearing itself up for

development in the 1950s, animals were getting endangered and some even

got extinct! (Cheetahs in 1960s). Water pollution in the Ganges made it difficult

for river dolphins to survive. Moreover, during the green revolution program,

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Anthropocene is the time frame that the specifies the age from which Human activities have brought impact (usually negative) to the environment. It says more on the environmental effects human innovations or breakthroughs have led throughout time. During the Iron Age, when axe became sharper, slashing down forest for settlement was faster than before. This marked the beginning of depletion of forests because of human activities. Most settlements happened near rivers. Harappan civilization happened surrounding Indus river, Egyptian on the Nile, Chinese on Huang He (yellow river), Indian on the Ganges, and many more. It is said that the course of the river and its ecosystem have been disrupted because of human settlements around it for agriculture. Moreover, some even claim that the Sahara Desert was a lush green forest, but human settlement led to its desertification. Over the years, settlements were becoming larger and larger. Villages grouped to form kingdoms. The powerful ones conquered the rest to form empires. Humans wanted control over resources. In doing so, they spent on maintaining an army, where mining iron accelerated to make more weapons and animals like horses and elephants were used as cavalries. Settlements, wars and change in power went on till the advent of the Industrial revolution. Human productivity increased. More goods were being produced. A new capitalist class were being formed, whose main intent were to earn profits and have control over resources. This was the time when extraction of raw materials was procured by converting jungles into mines and plantations. Hunting became a leisure sport for the rich. With the invention of guns and jeeps, animals were killed for sport to a larger extent. It was during this time that many animals faced mass extinction. The environment started to degrade every day at a faster rate. Factories were emitting enormous amounts of greenhouse gasses. Industrial waste was being disposed in water bodies. For research purposes, medicines and cosmetics were tried and tested on animals. Humans had started to progress faster, but at the cost of the environment. Even in the Indian context, when India started gearing itself up for development in the 1950s, animals were getting endangered and some even got extinct! (Cheetahs in 1960s). Water pollution in the Ganges made it difficult for river dolphins to survive. Moreover, during the green revolution program,

which was regarded as a success, it started degrading the soil and the ground water. At present, humans are using up resources way more than the earth could replenish it. Although we have started to look up for alternatives, like pushing ourselves into sustainable development, we are still dependent on conventional sources of energy. Space programs require conventional fuels to launch its rockets to space. The aviation industry has been pushing itself to sustainable flying, but its commercialization is far from reality. The automobile sector is gaining momentum, with more and more buying electrical vehicles. The only problem is, only a few can afford it. The whole history has made us realized our impacts on the nature. These days, if any breakthrough takes place in innovation, effect on nature is also taken into consideration

The Minamata convention on mercury This was an International treaty signed by 128 countries to protect the environment and human health on mercury disposal by human activities, signed in Japan. We were shown a video on which its implementation was taking place in the gold mines of South America. To extract gold, a lot of mercury is used to separate it from its ores. People who live around these mines are dependent for their livelihood on these mines. They are the ones affected by the mercury, which they come in contact with every day. The same mercury is released in the water, affecting the water people get and the local environment dependent on it. The GEF, a group helping in the implementation of the treaty, introduced local plants instead of mercury for the separation of gold from its ores. The result, it worked! They have also been working on implementing the same for replacing the use of mercury in Industries. In the country I live in, India, there have been many environmental movements that has taken place. Many beach cleaning initiatives have taken place in the shores of Mumbai. Villagers in Assam have planted so many trees that the area has its own ecosystem (in the village), with tigers, rhinos and other animals roaming around. Startups like Aloe-e-cell have made battery cells from aloe vera. It is making the use of battery cells more sustainable, just like GEF has made extracting gold sustainable. The problem is, these initiatives has not come to light.

The more sustainable the technology, the lesser the value of T (because of lesser emissions it generates). The IPAT formula promotes for extensive use of sustainable technology.

The four laws of environment states that a. Everything is connected to everything If trees are cut down, it will affect the animals living over there. Animals would find another habitat. With no transpiration taking place, it would affect the rain pattern. This would further affect the recharge of ground water. It would further affect the soil environment. And therefore, everyone is affected. This shows the chain of effect each and every element of the environment has. b. Everything must go somewhere This means that what we consider waste is used by the environment for some other productive thing. For example, we exhale carbon dioxide. Plants use it to prepare food in the process of photosynthesis. Animal excreta are used by the soil to make a compost out of it. Dead organisms are fed by decomposers, which is also good for the nutrient of the soil. This shows how nature is natural recycler. c. Nature knows best During the 20 th century, the Americans tried to resolve the issue of American Bison and other herbivores by killing all the carnivorous animals (like coyote and bobcats in mass). They wanted to preserve the herbivore population. Less did they know its adverse impact on the environment. The Bison were eating up every single patch of grass, making the land barren. Soon, the Americans realized the importance of carnivores in the ecosystem and how they kept a balance in the environment. That is when preservation programs for these carnivores were lodged out. Human intervention to improve nature will not help out as nature knows how it works. d. There is no such thing as free lunch This law is a warning to mankind. Humans are developing. Few countries are getting richer. The top 1% is controlling most of the resources. Every year some or the other breakthroughs are taking place (specially after 2010). All this at the cost of the environment. If we get the food on our plates, we are getting it at the cost of soil degradation, water

contamination and ground water exploitation. If we are buying furniture, we are having it at the cost of another animal’s home.

Biodiversity is a concept which shows the variety of organisms that exist in a place. It could be in a state, country or even the whole earth. The three main types of diversity are a. Genetic diversity This shows the diversity within a species. The best examples are breeds of dogs. In plants, there are thousand types of mangoes found in India. It may be the difference in color, size, or any physical appearance. b. Species diversity This shows the different species of an animal that exists in a particular area. The best example are coral reefs, rich in diversity with different kinds of corals, crustaceans (like crabs) and fish. Even the Amazon rainforest is filled with species diversity, with different kinds of snakes, monkeys, birds, particularly every animals and plants that exist over there. c. Ecological Diversity It shows the variation in ecosystem in a country, continent and even the world. In India, there is an enormous dichotomy between the ecosystem in the north eastern forests and the western ghats. There is a dichotomy visible between the ecosystem in India and Japan (both within the same continent). And there exists a variation between Asia and Australia. We will not find elephants in the wild in Australia, the same being for not finding Kangaroos in Asia. Biodiversity has an existing interaction between plants, animals and the non-living things that has been going on for thousands, lakhs (like western Ghats) or even millions of years (Amazon rainforest). Breaking that interaction will not only affect the existing system, but will make humans to face the consequences for its actions. Each and every ecology resembles a different identity according to its region, terrain, climate occurring there, and other factors. The more its untouched by humans, the better it will be for the world. The focus should be more on developing without affecting the biodiversity.

The Anthropocene Era: Human Impact on the Environment, Essays (university) of History of Economic Thought

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