Biggest environmental change man has caused

[Gray-Wolf]

I've heard a few times now posters moot the opinion that we are far to grand in our own ideas of ourselves and our potential to do harm to our environment.

They have mentioned this in context of global warming and our emissions (and the implausibility that little old us could have caused change).

A few days back I'd asked why we could easily accept our destruction of the environment on the ground but ,in the same breath almost, deny any such impacts on the atmosphere.

So, what d'ya think? what is the biggest 'bad' mankind has committed to his planet?

I heard an interesting stat on the north America Bison the other day, within 50yrs of us taking to the saddle on the Prairies we'd taken the largest single herd of critters on the face of the planet and reduced it to just to 500 beasts in 1893. So there's a start.....

[Chris Knight]

I've heard a few times now posters moot the opinion that we are far to grand in our own ideas of ourselves and our potential to do harm to our environment.

They have mentioned this in context of global warming and our emissions (and the implausibility that little old us could have caused change).

A few days back I'd asked why we could easily accept our destruction of the environment on the ground but ,in the same breath almost, deny any such impacts on the atmosphere.

So, what d'ya think? what is the biggest 'bad' mankind has committed to his planet?

I heard an interesting stat on the north America Bison the other day, within 50yrs of us taking to the saddle on the Prairies we'd taken the largest single herd of critters on the face of the planet and reduced it to just to 500 beasts in 1893. So there's a start.....

1) Australasia

2) America N&S

3) Antarctica

4) Africa

5) Asia

6) Europe

paint each continent on the side of a dice and throw the dice!

You win!

[Bobby]

Plenty of nasty things.

The Dust Bowl of the 30's in the US.

The devastation of the Aral sea in Central Asia.

The clearing of the Amazon rainforest.

The clearing of the rainforests in Oceania.

The hunting to extinction of the passenger pigeon.

"Dust bowl" conditions in China at the moment, as well as the horrendous pollution.

[Devonian]

Plenty of nasty things.

The Dust Bowl of the 30's in the US.

The devastation of the Aral sea in Central Asia.

The clearing of the Amazon rainforest.

The clearing of the rainforests in Oceania.

The hunting to extinction of the passenger pigeon.

"Dust bowl" conditions in China at the moment, as well as the horrendous pollution.

The plunder of the seas comes to mind as well.

[West is Best]

What has got into people that we're suddenly into the 'biggest' this and 'greatest' that? I blame Al Gore personally!

These are not the biggest, but they make me sad:

The pollution on Everest

The litter in space

Loads of others though ... no single one stands out as the greatest/biggest.

[parmenides3]

I'd vote for the deforestation of the Sahara, possibly.

:)P

[davehsug]

I suppose in our own country it would be the smogs of the 50s & 60s & the reclamation of land from sea around the wash in the middle ages.

Dave

[RedShift]

I think a special mention here should go to Thomas Midgley Jr., In 1921 he discovered that adding lead (or tetra-ethyl lead) to gasoline prevented knocking, then he discovered dichlorodifluoromethane, a CFC, which was used in household refrigerants. So not only did he pollute the air with lead he also helped make huge holes in the ozone layer.

[Optimus Prime]

Apart from desertification, desiccation of rivers and lakes and as a result a desiccation of many marine species;

Great swaths of forest opened up through crop irrigation, intoxicating the once clean breathing air, large areas of forests cleared for industrial purposes and unprecedented overpopulation in most countries.

It's a very dim picture for the neat future.

[Osbourne One-Nil]

Over population - yep....could have guessed you'd cite that one.

[Rustynailer]

I expect the "creator" would say something like:- "The human race will fail in the end, because they are not as perfect as the wildlife around them. They are not perfect because they keep growing in numbers with no limit, they will starve theirselves out, if they don't kill each other first either by accident or deliberately, plus the more of them there are the more the likelihood of pandemic".

IMO we are lucky, life on the planet will be harder the longer time goes on and population rises. In a couple of hundred years it will be pretty difficult to get by, if things aren't changed.

I love life at the moment, the world where I live is nice and so it is too when I go on holiday, I am going to go on enjoying it aswel, but I feel sorry for the people who follow. The reason for this attitude is that I have given up trying to change things its too difficult, I wasted lots of time trying when I was younger though

Russ

Edited October 17, 2007 by Rustynailer

[Gray-Wolf]

Maybe the change I most 'dislike' is our own deforrestation. Not just the wholesale defforestation of our once 'green and pleasant land' but more recently.During the period 1990 to 2000 we 'grubbed up 25% of our remaining trees (in the form of field boundaries) whilst moaning on at the developing world (who still have a fair percentage of their 'natural forrests'). What the frell are we on???

Edited October 18, 2007 by pottyprof
To keep on topic :)