Blog 2 - - - Section 12

Ecosystems and Human well-being
Understand current impacts and changing actions to become sustainable in the future. Poor ecosystem management for human gain, over the past fifty years, is proving to have harmful consequences. Over use of an ecosystem, destroys the necessary systems for other groups of people and future generations. Some impacts are serious enough to be irreversible, creating diseases and “dead zones”. Everything that is alive will be affected. Non-managed ecosystem changes can affect many areas. Taking one population out of poverty, can easily slip another population into its place, very fine balance that everyone is part of.
Major human impacts are climate change and nutrient loading, and there full effects will be apparent by the year 2050. The most vulnerable communities are poor rural locations, which rely on the natural system of the ecosystem. Sound management solutions now, can create multiple levels of sustainability for the future. But changes have already begun to occur, and still no action has been taken. The effects on the environment only get worse with time. Creating greater transparency throughout all users will spread responsibility and options. Allowing progress to begin, and involving everyone to accomplish a positive change in the ecosystem.
Problems the ecosystems are facing currently are constantly blamed on human activity. In the past fifty years, serious eco-problems can be linked to the speed of expansion and growth of the modern world. Larger environmental change has been to feed growing populations, and most of the land is converted to controlled agricultural practices, removing drainage and over tilling the land. The continuous change is simplifying the world’s biomass, eliminating unique species. High risk species are located in freshwater habits. Human and animal both require the service of the ecosystems, but human are indirectly adding pollution, limiting their effectiveness on purifying.
Changes have been positive, towards eliminating poverty. Fix one problem and another is created. Feeding everyone on earth, would have a massive toll on the environment, population control remains the focus of a stable sustainable ecosystem.
Understanding possible solutions, weather to wait until a problem arise, or to globally connect the worlds resource, still remains a difficult task, with little answers to help guide the decision. All scenarios have benefits and drawbacks, but a fine balance between human and ecosystem interaction is achievable. History has proven people can live in harmony with the ecosystems. Solutions for hunger are slow, especially in the areas most affected. Ecosystem failure, has a high impact on infant mortality rates, and also brings disease. Disease brings expensive drawback that could otherwise be spent on ecosystem renewal.
Intervention on current practices and ways of life can result in sustainable world by 2050. Life today will not be the same as in the future, if goals are going to be met. The human interaction with nature results in the loss of biodiversity, and people will therefore always be impacting the ecosystems, but it’s our choice on how much we effect.
Bottom line, current operations are not efficient enough to work in harmony with earth ecosystems. Industries have to change quickly to minimize further damage. As a precautionary protection program, human have created, protected ecological areas, to maintain impact free natural growth.
In the search for new substitutes to replace current polluter, the community has to be careful. New alternative are usually more expensive, and history has shown, might even be worse. Switching from wood fires, to fossil fuels, was better for people, much worse for the environment. Understanding indirect and drivers behind decision making is vital. A true system provides education of the processes, shows the values and benefits for both human and ecosystems, and how long the new advancement will take to better connect the community with the surrounding ecosystems.

I found this article hard to follow, and much drier than the rest of the articles previously read. The concept was clear enough to understand that people and the ecosystem is a very balanced machine, also humans are not immune to the changes caused by their own action. In a way, humans should look at their own bodies as environment being effect, and look at possible solution to live better, which in turn should allow a better insight on how ecosystems feel and react.


Reference

Easton T. (2009) Environmental Studies, Sections 12. New York: McGraw-Hill