Impact of Modern Human Consumption on the Environment and Human Health

1.

    As discussed in the podcast “fighting fire with fire” Humans have lived in harmony with fire for thousands of years.  wildfires play an important role in many different habitats and ecosystems, without them many species of plants and animals would suffer. Unfortunately over the past one hundred or so years, humans have shifted their viewpoint of wildfires from something that can cleanse and rejuvenate the land to something whose sole purpose is t be violent and destructive. In the podcast, the hosts discuss how humans have been harming the environment by not letting natural wildfires burn, as a result of the immediate extinguishing of small fires larger fires have more fuel and are significantly harder to put out.

    These larger hotter fires can have significant negative effects on the health of the environment and of the people living in the surrounding areas, out of control wildfires can produce an extremely large amount of smoke that can travel for miles and stay in the air for long periods of time. This excess smoke in the air can be harmful to those with compromised heart and lung health such as the elderly, children, and people with asthma or other medical conditions, in fact, most cases of wildfire fatalities are not caused by the flames themselves, they are caused by smoke inhalation. 

    One way of preventing large wildfires that were discussed in “fighting fire with fire” was a practice known as “prescribed” or “controlled” burning. This is a practice that has been carried out by indigenous groups for hundreds of years, fire has been deeply ingrained in many native cultures and traditions. These small purposeful fires are meant to clear out dead, dry underbrush from the forest floor, this material is easily flammable and could cause much larger fires if it builds up too much and is not dealt with. Sadly due to many factors like colonization and industrialization, prescribed burning practices have been lost, allowing larger, hotter, and more deadly fires to form. 

A firefighter uses a drip torch to ignite the duff under a stand of conifers on the Cedar Central Prescribed Burn (national park service)

Below is a video that I took in an area that had recently seen a “prescribed burn”, this was in the white mountains of new Hampshire and was during the end of summer. This piece of land that has been partially burnt was around an acre or two and at the end of a popular hiking trail. The area that had been burnt was slowly starting to see new plant growth and was much brighter and healthier looking. When you looked up you could see where birds had built new nests in the branches above the partially scorched trees and when you looked down you could observe the ash mixing with the soil on the forest floor to provide the new plant growth with nutrients. As you can see only sections of the forest were burnt, clearing out room for a new life while leaving old growth alone to continue thriving, now in this area, a larger fire will have much less of a chance of starting and the forest can continue t live on for hundreds of more years. 

2.

It is a well-known fact that We are currently in a mass extinction event, which means that many of earth's species have been dying off at an extremely fast and alarming rate. This mass extinction event is largely due to the industrialization of natural spaces,  habitat destruction, water pollution, air pollution, and climate change. All of these examples have been caused by humans, much like we have caused larger more violent wildfires by abandoning traditional land management practices we have caused this extinction by sacrificing natural spaces and ecosystems for modernization and technological progress. As shown in the slides on a graph by science.org, many species of mammals, birds, and other vertebrates are beginning to disappear in large numbers, habitat destruction and loss of suitable living space are partially to blame for this increase in animal death. Some of this habitat loss is caused by large and out-of-control wildfires that burn large expanses of land taking away space for organisms to live and then leaving the land unsuitable for life once it has been extinguished. habitat loss causing extinction is nothing new and has been needed on earth for millions of years, much like wildfires it's a part natural world however the rate at which it's occurring and how it is occurring is much different and far more detrimental to the earth.

Habitat disruption because of new constructions at Dune Harbiş by Zeynel Cebeci

Much like wildfires can cause habitat destruction and the extinction of species, flooding can cause many organisms to be displaced or die. According to the New York Times, “Warmer temperatures increase evaporation, putting more moisture into the atmosphere that then gets released as rain or snowfall.”  this increase in precipitation causes flash floods that can lead to ensure habitats being taken out by mudslides or erosion. An increase in flooding is particularly harmful when this flooding takes place in areas that are being used to farm livestock or grow crops, this is because the harmful pesticides, chemicals, and animal waste can contaminate the flood waters causing them to travel into the surrounding environment, destroying habitats and causing many species to become sick or die.

Flooded trees in Kampong Phlouk, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia by Krzysztof Golik

3.

one way that we in Keene are involved in negative impacts on our environment is simply being consumers of goods, the production of clothes, food, energy, and other goods is extremely unsustainable and harmful to the planet. We are causing the environment harm and stress simply by existing in it, our houses, cars, restaurants, and schools have all been built on top of an ecosystem and our physical goods have all been produced by taking something from the environment. We can certainly not stop all environmental harm caused by humans, however, there are some ways we can help. Holding large corporations and governments accountable to make less harmful decisions for the environment would ensure that we are going in the right direction to reduce climate change and the destruction of the environment. We should also be more aware of where our possessions and belongings come from, reducing the amount of stuff we buy would decrease the amount of air pollution large production factories produce, and being more thoughtful about where we get our food would reduce the environmental harm caused by large farming operations. There is foresee a limit on how much we in Keene can reduce our environmental impact and making better choices will not change the systemic environmental harm caused by our way of life, however, making more conscious changes over time will ultimately reduce the amount of impact we have and the amount of harm we are causing to our environment.

Zero Carbon Footprint by catlin wolfard

Of course, the actions of many will far outweigh the actions of one, one person choosing not to use a plastic bag is great but an entire state banning the use of them is much better and has a way bigger impact on the environment. As depressing as it is to realize the harm being done to the environment is not going to be reversed by a few people reducing their plastic consumption or energy use. Change needs to come from larger movements and be led by a systemic change in the way our culture and societies are run and set up, at this point we need laws and regulations to be put in place to help reduce our consumption as a collective. According to the state of California, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill requiring all packaging in the state to be recyclable or compostable by the year 2032, this would effectively cut plastic packaging by 25% in 10 years. This is a great start and if more states started to take action like this we could start to reduce the amount of harm we are causing to the earth.  Similarly, the state of Maine has effectively banned the use of plastic bags in favor of paper bags and cardboard boxes being used at grocery stores and other businesses, this will reduce the amount of plastic everyone is using in the state significantly. Individuals changing their habits to help combat climate change and pollution are what makes governments enforce change happen on a larger scale, when a few people decide to make a change many more will follow.

Paper shopping bags of the Holland & Barrett in the Groninger city of Winschoten, Oldambt. By Donald Trung Quoc Don

https://www.gov.ca.gov/2022/06/30/governor-newsom-signs-legislation-cutting-harmful-plastic-pollution-to-protect-communities-oceans-and-animals/#:~:text=Governor%20Gavin%20Newsom%20signed%20SB,recycled%20in%20the%20same%20timeframe.

https://www.epa.gov/smm/managing-and-reducing-wastes-guide-commercial-buildings

https://www.nytimes.com/article/flooding-climate-change.html#:~:text=Warmer%20temperatures%20increase%20evaporation%2C%20putting,released%20as%20rain%20or%20snowfall.&text=Researchers%20also%20expect%20that%2C%20as,while%20the%20magnitude%20gets%20higher.

https://health.ny.gov/environmental/outdoors/air/smoke_from_fire.htm#:~:text=Inhaling%20fine%20particles%20can%20cause,carbon%20monoxide%20and%20particulate%20matter.