Essay topics:

Some people believe that Earth is being harmed by human activity. Others feel that
human activity makes the Earth a better place to live. What is your opinion? Use specific
reasons and examples to support your answer.

Sample Essay: (band 4)

It is an undeniable fact that Earth has changed in the aftermath of human activity. However,
those changes are not entirely positive and in fact they are damaging and far-reaching. I firmly
believe that Earth is being harmed by human activity and I will provide some supporting
explanations in the subsequent paragraphs.

First of all, all industrial activity in manufactories within city areas and conducted by
humans have a major impact on our environment. A great amount of greenhouse gases has
been released from working factories. Consequently, that causes abnormal climate changes like
global warming and deterioration of the natural life. Moreover, that activities affect our lives as a
human beings when we inhale the contaminated noxious air. For example,10 years ago in my
beautiful village was built up a massive manufactory producing twisting jar caps and toppers.
This production requires a work of multitudinous machineries that emit extremely dangerous
gases. In vicinity of that factory there is no longer green park, since the establishment of that
factory. It is mostly due to the adverse gases from chimneys and all toxic liquids which
destroyed the extant green park. The activity of the factory's work is lead by people, hence they
cause harm on the environment. Since, there are numerous factories scattered all around the
World, our entire planet is on stake.

In addition, the negative human activity on Earth is profoundly manifested via

deforestation. That process unfortunately has taken place in every country. No one can deny
that people eradicate forests in order to build up apartments or commercial centers.
Deforestation is severe factor in Earth's deterioration, because forests help in climate
regulations and other manifold functions such as wind protection for some wind sensitive crops.
If vast areas of trees are destroyed, that will lead to huge implications not only for crops, lands
and species but also for the entire Earth. As a matter of fact, mankind will be afflicted too
owing to the fact that with no growing crops no comestibles will be available. I will never forget
when I was on the way to my brother's city and saw how a part of a forest was being destroyed.
It supposed to be substituted with a shopping center. All that activity was conducted by people,
thus they caused harm on the planet for some pennies.

In a nutshell, I believe that people cause more harm on the Earth than making it better
place to live and it can be proven as we take into account some activities. Some of them are
managing factories in a straddles of a living areas, which causes consequences on greeneries.
Plus, deforestation is a serious issue as well, because it blocks some natural cycles and
deteriorate agricultures in some cases.

Essay Topic:
Human activity has damaged the environment all around the world. Some people think
that humans cannot stop damaging the planet where as other believe that we can alter
our behaviour and future damage.

Sample Essay: (Band 5)

Nowadays major human actions are affecting badly to the environment .From the
perspective of some people, the damage done by humanity is endless. Others, however ,think
that if people control harmful actions , they can tackle issues and prevent them. Personally,
I find the latter more convincing.

Those who support the idea of irreversible damaging have their own justifications. First
of all, the harmful changes that are taking place are not always related to human behavior, they
might be natural. In other words , it is their opinion that the natural disasters such as floods,
earthquakes, tornadoes, eruptions may harm the condition of the planet more than us, humans.
For instance, those kind of terrible events kill on average 60 thousand people per year, globally.
Furthermore, today more and more people are indifferent to the cleanliness of the environment,
which means that their attention to cleanliness has declined. For example, in the streets you can
see people throwing garbage on the ground.

On the other hand, others believe it is the duty of everyone to protect nature, improve
the ecological and sanitary-epidemiological environment, prevent environmental damage and
increase the ecological culture of the humanity and I agree. For instance, creating some special
classes about human damage on environment or sticking posters about nature preserve on
walls of public areas. Another reason for this opinion is condition of the earth is directly related
to the life of man and other living organisms. To be more precise, this group of people consider
that humans should preserve the nature not for only themselves, also animals.

In conclusion, while some people have some reasons to believe stopping harmful
actions of human is impossible. I tend to think that people can change this condition together.

(287 words)

Sample Essay:

Human activity has had an effect on the environment for thousands of years, from the
time of our very earliest ancestors. Since Homo sapiens first walked the earth, we have been
modifying the environment around us through agriculture, travel and eventually through
urbanization and commercial networks. At this point in earth’s physical history, our impact on
the environment is so substantial that scientists believe “pristine nature,” or ecosystems
untouched by human intervention, no longer exist.

In ways both positive and negative—and likely in more ways than you’d even think—
human civilization and technology have affected our earth, altering our planet forever. Consider
these five tangible impacts our species has had on the environment, and whether you’re one
who will advance their effects or intercede to halt them.

1. The Population Bomb

Human overpopulation has been affecting the environment for hundreds of years and a concern
for scientists since at least 1798, when Thomas Malthus first published his finding that, without
significant and ongoing technological innovation, the human population would almost certainly
outstrip the planet’s food supply. In 1968, this concern was again raised in Stanford professor R.
Paul Ehrlich’s book “The Population Bomb.”2
Accommodating population growth has been a root cause for much of the impact we’ve had on
our environment. Since Malthus first noted his grave concerns, technological advances have
created a new double-edged sword: health and abundance. Our food supply today can support
more lives than ever, and advances in medical science have led to increasingly longer lifespans.
But this reality has the profound side effect of reducing population turnover and leading to its
rapid expansion. So as our quality of life and life expectancy improve, the challenges wrought
by overpopulation accelerate as well.3

2. Agriculture, Domesticated Animals and Genetic Modification

The demand to feed a growing human population has facilitated notable advances in
agriculture, which was the first major human innovation to enable our survival as a species.
Early agriculture allowed hunter-gatherer cultures to settle an area and cultivate their own food.
This immediately impacted the environment by transplanting non-native species to new areas,
and by prioritizing the cultivation of certain plants and animals over others. And more recently,
advances in genetic modification have raised concerns about the environmental impact of newly
developed crops.4

In particular, the domestication of livestock and other species, including dogs and cats, by early
humans affected the environment by altering the land in significant ways. Grazing animals
contributed to environmental change by depleting native grasses and contributing to soil
erosion. And we now know that the rapid expansion of cattle populations to meet human dietary
demands has contributed substantially to changes in the composition of gases within the
atmosphere.5

The industrialization of agriculture in the last several centuries has exacerbated these effects,
but it has also prompted a subsequent wave of counter-movements, which seek to undo the
negative effects of human intervention. People today are increasingly aware of the impact vast
factory farms have on the environment, and seek to return to smaller farms and even urban
gardens. As “eating local” rises in popularity, urban land is being reclaimed for traditional
agriculture and the environment is once again altered due to human labor.6

3. Deforestation…and Reforestation
Growing populations have to be housed, which means they seek more space to build homes
and cities. This often involves clearing forests to make room for urban and suburban
development, as well as to provide building materials. Currently, it is estimated that 18 million
acres of trees are clear-cut every year to create space for development and to be used in wood
products.7

Deforestation has many effects, including decreasing oxygen levels (and increasing greenhouse
gases), elevated risk of soil erosion and the destruction of animal habitats. But as is the case
with industrial agriculture, some groups have endeavored to create a positive counter-impact to
deforestation’s detrimental effects on the environment. Reforestation efforts seek to replace as
much forest land as possible every year, and it is currently estimated that about 40 percent of
the trees removed each year are being replaced.8

4. Pollution
Human activities affect the environment by contributing to air pollution, or the emission of
harmful substances into the air. While it can be difficult to understand which pollutants are
associated with specific effects on the environment or public health, it is generally accepted that
air pollution can indeed cause public health problems and also harm plant and animal life.9

Pollution isn’t just limited to the air. It can affect soil or waterways and can come from human
waste, industrial chemicals and other sources. These toxins can exert tremendous effects on
the natural world, leading to environmental degradation and problems like acid rain and harmful
algal blooms in the ocean.

Environmental protection laws on the local and federal level have been enacted as a means to
stem the ecological damage caused by pollution, and some communities have engaged in
ongoing conversations aimed toward promoting sustainable, low-impact living.

5. Global Warming and Climate Change

Among the most critically impactful ways that humans have affected the environment is our
extraction and consumption of fossil fuels and their attendant CO2 emissions. Recent studies
indicate that CO2 emissions contribute to the deterioration of the earth’s ozone layer, which
may, in turn, contribute to global climate change; this is especially true when emissions are
combined with the loss of the carbon-sink effect of forest lands (due to deforestation) and
existing particulate matter in the air.10 Though the scale and impact of such climate change are
up for debate, the scientific community has reached a consensus that human activity does have
some degree of impact on the global climate.

Human Impact on the Environment is a Double-edged Sword

The expansion of human population and the requirements of our growing human family place
strenuous demands on our environment. Through human intervention, we have altered our
ecosystem forever. However, though some of these changes may be negative, humans also
have the power to correct our mistakes and change our environment for the better.