How People Today Change the Environment

          People nowadays change the environment in a few ways, and for different reasons.  I think that some of the main things we do is clear forests, pollute the air, and pollute the sea .  People also change the environment when they snorkel by touching coral and accidentally killing it, when hikers climb up mountains, and people hunt animals such as deer. 
          The reason why we clear forests is because we need space to put our homes, buildings, and factories.  We also need to be able to plant crops and raise livestock.  When we don't have enough room to do these things, we just cut down trees, and make more.  This is changing the environment, because instead of forests, there is either concrete, crops, or animals.  This affects the earth by depleting our one source of oxygen, getting rid of things that absorb CO2, ruining animal habitats, and therefore, killing them.
          We pollute the air all the time.  We do it when we turn on the lights, we do it when we go to an amusement park, we do it when we drive cars, take the bus, or fly on a plane.  To create the energy to turn on lights and make running water, something needs to be burned.  When that substance is burned up, it creates pollution.  When we drive cars, we're burning either gas or diesel to fuel them, and that makes more pollution.  It takes a lot of energy to get an amusement park running, and when we go, we use just a bit of that energy, and put more toxins into the air.  When we take the bus, or fly a plane, we burn fuel and release even more pollution into the atmosphere.  This changes the environment by adjusting the balance of different gasses in the air.  This then contributes to Global Warming, and that can cause drastic changes in the environment.
          People pollute the sea by causing oil spills, and dumping trash into it.  When we mine for oil in the ocean, sometimes we can cause oil spills.  This means that the oil doesn't go up the pipe and into the boat - it goes straight into the ocean, and it's difficult to stop.  This  
oil can kill any animals that it covers, and it blocks the sunlight so underwater plants can't live.  It could clog a fish's gills, or coat a bird's wing and prevent it from flying.  When we dump trash into the ocean, we give sea animals what they think is food, but what can really be lethal, and if when they eat it, they could choke or get poisoned.  If too many plant-eating animals die from eating human garbage, too much kelp and sea grass would grow, which would result in a mass use of oxygen when they die, and other animals could be spared of their full share.  That might kill them.
          When we snorkel over coral reefs, people can accidentally touch or walk on them.  Coral is actually a very fragile, living creature, and if you touch it, it might break.  You could cause innumerable damage to a reef by walking on it, and in doing so ruin fish habitats and hunting areas for predators.
               If someone is hiking up a mountain, sees a pretty flower, and then picks it, he/she is changing the environment.  If they step off the path or sit on some grass, they are changing the environment.  If they pick some blueberries, they are changing the environment.  Picking a flower deprives some roots of its stem, a bee of its pollen, and a tiny spider of its home.  If you step off the path and crush some grass, you could very well be squishing small insects and arachnids as well.  You are breaking the grass, and changing the environment.  When you pick berries, you might drop some, and they fall, and then later, since you dropped them in the right place, they might grow into more berry bushes, creating brand new places for bugs to hide and birds to eat. 
          Some people hunt animals such as deer and turkey in Tennessee, where I once lived.  That can be good, because it helps control population sizes.  If deer or turkey overpopulate, they could eat too much grass or seeds.  That deprives other animals of their food, and they die.  Then, since there isn't enough food for all the deer, or all the turkey, some of them die, too.  It could cause a whole bunch of animals to die if one species begins to dominate over all the other species. 
          There are many different ways that humans change the environment today.  We pollute the air, the sea,  we kill coral, we destroy animal habitats, we make it possible for plants to grow, clear land, and control the growth of animal species.  Sometimes, changing the environment is good, but sometimes, it can be bad.


From earliest times, people have changed their environments. How have people
    today changed their environment. Discuss both the good and the bad.