HUMANS: ENEMIES OF LIFE?

The earth has been the scenario for multiples events, from the migration of nomad humans, to the
raising of colossal empires. Nevertheless, the most important event might be the beginning of the
first “Industrial Revolution” that started in the 1760 and finished on 1840. This phase defined a
before and an after in human history, in this period time humans started to invent machines that
allows to accelerate the period of creation time of any type of product. However, on this point; the
environmental damage started to increase because there was not any regulation about the natural
resources exploitation. This essay will be developed regarding the oil spills in the ocean, forest
logging and the land use intended for cattle raising with the objective to prove that human beings
are directly involved in the climate change and the ecosystems destruction. At the end, a proposal to
give solution to the fight against this issue will be provided.
Firstly, the oil spills in the oceans are product of the many platforms and ships that have sunken in
the ocean. In fact, a huge part of the greenhouse gases (GHG) that increase the earth’s temperature
every year are made up by the burning of fossil fuel. In consequence, the main victims of the oil
spills are the fauna and flora of the place. For the fauna, consuming preys with oil poisons fish and
the entire food chain is been affected and can even affect humans. In addition, hydrocarbons destroy
eggs or produce malformed young. Bivalve mollusks, especially those that live clinging to rocks,
die from suffocation due to the oil layer. These spots also obstruct the passage of light so they do
not allow photosynthesis of the algae, significantly altering the underwater ecosystem[1].

In second place, the logging of huge parts of the main forests in the world had brought dangerous
consequences to the environment and it is a directly cause of the climate change phenomenon. In
fact, the nature of the threes allows them to absorb the CO2 of the surroundings. But, when they get
chopped down the CO2 is released to the atmosphere and it contribute to the generation of GHG
[2]. In 2018, more the 12 millions of hectares of vegetation of the tropical areas were lost; it is the
equivalent of; it is the equivalent of 30 soccer fields per minute [3]. This generates that many of the
herbivores species that lives in those forests die for the lack of nourishment and this affects the
whole food chain because the predators will have not preys to eat and eventually the whole
ecosystem will die out.
In addition, the cattle raising is responsible of 18% of the emissions of GHG, measured in
equivalents of CO2. Indeed, the cattle consume around 8% of the earth’s potable water and it is the
major source contamination of this resource contributing to the eutrophication and degradation of
rivers and coastlines. Also, the sources of contamination come from feces, feed residues
(antibiotics, heavy metals), hormones, as well as pesticides and fertilizers used in feed grain
monocultures. In the US, cattle are responsible for 55% of erosion and sedimentation, 37% of
pesticide use, 50% of antibiotic use, and 1/3 of the nitrogen and phosphorus content of water[4].
Furthermore, this topic has attached to the deforestation issue because the big companies have to
remove first all the obstacles to make the breeding spaces; those obstacles most of the times are
entire forests that are removed.
Therefore, all of the information indicates that if human society continue doing the same selfish
activity to exploit natural resources with no restrictions; the future generations will not be able to
tell the story. In spite of, there is still hope for changes. We are on that point of history where you
are on time to guide the world to another path. There are organizations committed to get better the
actual situation; one of them is the Science Based Target Org. (SBT) who have developed a great
movement oriented so that large companies like Coca Cola can reduce their carbon footprint [5].
There is also, the Forest Stewardship Council that evaluates the enterprises verifying that if they are
doing a well use of the wood resources and then, certificates them giving public the assurance that
this product came from a regulated log of forests and are not harming the environment [6]. Besides,
you can contribute with your grain of sand doing simple things like calculate your carbon footprint
and committing to reducing it as much as you can; use LED lamps, take public transport or use your
cycle if you can, do not buy meat from large enterprise, take shorter showers. As well, tell your
parents and friends and encourage them to take the same steps as you did to reduce their, I can
remember the first time I participate in an ecological campaign, we went all over Chia collecting
trash and explaining people easy things to contribute to the improving of the environmental care, it
was a very constructive experience.
In conclusion, human beings are directly involved in the climate change and the ecosystems
destruction by the oil spills and burning of fossil fuel, the unregulated forest logging and the cattle
raising. The solution could be that governments of all nations’ works along the non-governmental
organizations (ONG’s) committed to the environmental care implementing more aggressive policies
that punish companies that overpass boundaries stablished by the ONG’s. In addition, it is necessary
implement an environmental awareness program in schools to ensure that next generations will
make adequate use of natural resources. Finally, the immediate change starts in you; it is time to
take risks and make part of the difference, Mahatma Gandhi said “Be the change you want to see in
the world” so… are you ready to take a step forward?

REFERENCES:

[1] “Vertidos de petróleo: manchas mortales - Ecología.” [Online]. Available:

https://www.fundacionaquae.org/wiki-explora/34_vertidos/index.html. [Accessed: 22-Aug-
2020].
[2] “Deforestación de efecto invernadero | Greenpeace España.” [Online]. Available:
http://archivo-es.greenpeace.org/espana/es/Trabajamos-en/Frenar-el-cambio-
climatico/Ciencia/Deforestacion-de-efecto-invernadero/. [Accessed: 22-Aug-2020].
[3] “Cuáles son los países más deforestados del mundo y cuántos están en América Latina -
BBC News Mundo.” [Online]. Available: https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-48060343.
[Accessed: 22-Aug-2020].
[4] “Ganadería y cambio climático • Ecologistas en Acción.” [Online]. Available:
https://www.ecologistasenaccion.org/17918/ganaderia-y-cambio-climatico/. [Accessed: 22-
Aug-2020].
[5] “Science Based Targets.” [Online]. Available: https://sciencebasedtargets.org/. [Accessed:
22-Aug-2020].
[6] “¿QUÉ ES EL CERTIFICADO FSC? | Cavala.” [Online]. Available:
https://www.cavala.es/noticias/2018/10/certificado-fsc/. [Accessed: 22-Aug-2020].