Hi everybody ..!!! Welcome to "INTROSPECTION". I am back with another article, "NATURAL SOUTIEN" which is about our natural environment. My initial impressions on the ecosystem before doing any research are that "it has been slowly declining over the last decade or so". This impression only got stronger during the study. And I'm sure that many of us know this fact, and feel bad about it. Though not many people bother to dig deep. I will, therefore, offer some insights on this subject.
NOTE: Have some patience as the post is going to be a long one since I don't want to give any vague information and want to provide as many details as I can.
Let's go dive into the matter...
WHAT IS AN ECOSYSTEM AND WHAT ARE THE SERVICES IT PROVIDES:
Even though you can google it, I will provide you my definition of "ECOSYSTEM".
ECOSYSTEM:
An ecosystem can be described as a bunch of living and non-living things like plants, animals, rocks, oceans, mountains, and other things that work together to make life on the planet possible.
TYPES OF SERVICES PROVIDED BY THE ECOSYSTEM:
On the whole, there are mainly 4 services provided by the ecosystem that benefit humans. They are:
1.SUPPORTIVE SERVICES: A healthy ecosystem offers support services that build and replenish the biological systems of the earth. All cycles of substances, such as water, oil, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus are included in this. New soils are also formed and atmospheric oxygen is produced. Plants act as natural filters for the water we drink and for the air we breathe.
2. PROVISIONAL SERVICES: Foods like fish and others are produced by the oceans. For drinking and many other uses rivers, aquifers and other water bodies provide water. Plants and animals also provide us with all the fibers we use for our clothes and shelters. We find fuel sources all around us, in the form of grass or wood. Even by using the water flow, we get hydropower.
3. REGULATING SERVICES: The ecosystem plays a very crucial role in controlling many of the earth's systems. Like fungi and many other organisms helps in decomposing the dead and rotten stuff which are quite a mess if they continue to increase. While on the other hand plants help in controlling floods. And plants even help in controlling the level of carbon in the atmosphere that we and our automobiles are competitively releasing.
4. CULTURAL SERVICES: Besides its always cool to have plants around us. Green and vibrant habitats give us opportunities for playing, relaxing, recreating, and even doing photoshoots. They only inspire and inspire us to study nature. Such services are not tangible but very useful.
Interestingly, economists can actually calculate the monetary value for the services the ecosystems provide to mankind. For instance, if we have to do all the things ecosystems will do for us, it would cost us an average of $46 trillion per year. Obviously, that is a lot because the global economy 's output in the year 2018-19 is 86.60 trillion dollars. But it feels so good to know that we don't have to pay for most of those. All those resources can not be provided if ecosystem biodiversities(parts) are not in good condition. A good biodiversity-ecosystem is more resistant to disturbances than a poor biodiversity-ecosystem. Indeed, humans are working very hard to disrupt these diverse ecological biodiversities.
PROVEN WAYS TO RUIN OUR ECOSYSTEMS: Because it is not possible to address all the ways as people(some) are imaginative and find new ways to destroy our nature each time. I'll talk about some of them, therefore.
POLLUTION: Pollution can be described as something which is at the wrong location or in the wrong concentrations in the atmosphere. We're used to seeing only synthetic compounds that are produced in big factories as chemicals. But even the natural compounds are equally harmful in the wrong concentrations.
NOTE: Have some patience as the post is going to be a long one since I don't want to give any vague information and want to provide as many details as I can.
Let's go dive into the matter...
WHAT IS AN ECOSYSTEM AND WHAT ARE THE SERVICES IT PROVIDES:
Even though you can google it, I will provide you my definition of "ECOSYSTEM".
ECOSYSTEM:
An ecosystem can be described as a bunch of living and non-living things like plants, animals, rocks, oceans, mountains, and other things that work together to make life on the planet possible.
TYPES OF SERVICES PROVIDED BY THE ECOSYSTEM:
On the whole, there are mainly 4 services provided by the ecosystem that benefit humans. They are:
1.SUPPORTIVE SERVICES: A healthy ecosystem offers support services that build and replenish the biological systems of the earth. All cycles of substances, such as water, oil, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus are included in this. New soils are also formed and atmospheric oxygen is produced. Plants act as natural filters for the water we drink and for the air we breathe.
2. PROVISIONAL SERVICES: Foods like fish and others are produced by the oceans. For drinking and many other uses rivers, aquifers and other water bodies provide water. Plants and animals also provide us with all the fibers we use for our clothes and shelters. We find fuel sources all around us, in the form of grass or wood. Even by using the water flow, we get hydropower.
3. REGULATING SERVICES: The ecosystem plays a very crucial role in controlling many of the earth's systems. Like fungi and many other organisms helps in decomposing the dead and rotten stuff which are quite a mess if they continue to increase. While on the other hand plants help in controlling floods. And plants even help in controlling the level of carbon in the atmosphere that we and our automobiles are competitively releasing.
4. CULTURAL SERVICES: Besides its always cool to have plants around us. Green and vibrant habitats give us opportunities for playing, relaxing, recreating, and even doing photoshoots. They only inspire and inspire us to study nature. Such services are not tangible but very useful.
Interestingly, economists can actually calculate the monetary value for the services the ecosystems provide to mankind. For instance, if we have to do all the things ecosystems will do for us, it would cost us an average of $46 trillion per year. Obviously, that is a lot because the global economy 's output in the year 2018-19 is 86.60 trillion dollars. But it feels so good to know that we don't have to pay for most of those. All those resources can not be provided if ecosystem biodiversities(parts) are not in good condition. A good biodiversity-ecosystem is more resistant to disturbances than a poor biodiversity-ecosystem. Indeed, humans are working very hard to disrupt these diverse ecological biodiversities.
PROVEN WAYS TO RUIN OUR ECOSYSTEMS: Because it is not possible to address all the ways as people(some) are imaginative and find new ways to destroy our nature each time. I'll talk about some of them, therefore.
DEFORESTATION:
We are expected to cut 8000 hectares a day to provide the land for grazing cattle or making coffee tables. The area where thousands of species live unexpectedly becomes an area where a handful of species live. When we take so many living things out of a hectare of land, a whole bunch of things happens. First of all, you are harming not only the ecosystem but also the neighboring ecosystems.
We are expected to cut 8000 hectares a day to provide the land for grazing cattle or making coffee tables. The area where thousands of species live unexpectedly becomes an area where a handful of species live. When we take so many living things out of a hectare of land, a whole bunch of things happens. First of all, you are harming not only the ecosystem but also the neighboring ecosystems.
- If you cut down the trees that regulate the flow of all the rainwater, absorb and slow down the runoff that allows the water to seep into the soil, then slowly get into the streams, rivers, and finally into the ocean. But when those trees are gone, the water hits the land and shoots off in the nearest stream, causing soil erosion and washing minerals and chemicals all the way to the sea, not only causing floods but also affecting the quality of the water.
- A further impact of deforestation is desertification or the spread of dry, unproductive landscapes. Although cutting trees doesn't turn a forest into desert immediately. But cutting trees facilitates the overgrazing of livestock and over-irrigation. Now, how do overwatering anything turn it into dessert? Okay, if we use the groundwater for crop irrigation and other purposes. Natural salts build up in the groundwater, ultimately making it unsuitable to live. Fertile land near-desert habitats eventually are overloaded and the desert spreads. And that's just what happened in the last century in China, which has led to the expansion of the Gobi desert by 3,600 sq. km per year.
CLIMATE CHANGE: Here, by "CLIMATE CHANGE", I mean the transition in patterns of the global climate in terms of time. Among experts, there is this discussion that the earth's atmosphere is getting warmer. Though we can't change the climate directly, indirectly our lifestyle is the reason for that, which is quite unexpected. Because we do nothing but emit huge amounts of carbon dioxide by burning coal, gas, oil, and jet-fuel ... etc. For your information, If the carbon dioxide concentration rises in the atmosphere, the temperature also rises.
- Our average global temperature has risen about 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit over the last 100yrs or so, most of which have happened in the last 30 years. And this creates a delay in rainfall, which can postpone the filling of water bodies, which affect plant blooming, which affects insect hatching and messing up traditionally coordinated crop pollination, fish spawning, and bird migration, as well as drinking and irrigation water sources. Some places flood and, others face drought. This jumble is caused entirely by a mere 1.5 degree Fahrenheit increase.
- All the freshwaters in the form of polar ice caps begin to meltdown with temperature increase, leading to a dramatic rise in sea levels. This results in tsunamis in heavily populated areas like New York City, New Orleans, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Countries such as India, China, Bangladesh, and Vietnam that are low lying areas may completely drown. This may result in the destruction of diverse and vital ecosystems in case of a rise in the sea level.
- Google for thermohaline circulation. It is why our planet is sustaining so much life and its complexity. All of the world's oceans are linked through a conveyor belt. This is driven by the rotation and movement of the earth and winds, and by the salinity of the water. But mostly, it is driven by the temperature difference between the equator and the poles. In the past, once carbon dioxide levels reach a certain amount this thermohaline circulation has shut down which many scientists wonder could happen again. If that happens all the weather in the world will change and all the models go completely screwy. Oceans could become deep motion-less places and become pools of stagnation. The lack of oxygen may lead to the outbreak of anaerobic bacteria producing hydrogen sulfide that smells like rotten eggs and its highly toxic. It's one of the most harmful compounds we know of. Everything just dies and the entire planet looks like a huge rotten egg.
A string of cyclones that occurred in Africa during 2018 has contributed to a significant rise in the population of locusts that have destroyed a huge number of crops there. Eventually, this is what contributed to the latest influx of locusts to India. We can see that this is owing to the abrupt climate change and the emergence of cyclones at the wrong time.
- Screwing the bio-geo-chemical cycles is one of the main ways of messing with natural compounds. The most noticeable cycle with which we are screwing up is the carbon cycle that shuffles carbon across the earth like from humans to plants, animals, oceans, and so on. As already mentioned, more carbon is released than all plants, animals, and oceans can handle. The remaining carbon continues to spread like GHG in the atmosphere causing air pollution.
- Even the imbalances of natural chemicals that we need to live can cause pollution. Like cyanide in foods such as almonds, spinach, lime beans, apple seeds, and peaches. It takes a lot of cyanide than it is in almond to destroy a human, but somehow we find it enough. Mining activities use a lot of cyanide to remove gold, silver, and other precious metals from ore, resulting in toxic cyanide waste. Even though mines try to reduce cyanide to less toxic cyanate, it's not that helpful. By the end of the day, everything ends up in the water sources and groundwater supplies.
- Mercury is also naturally occurring metal found in coal, which is super toxic. This mercury is emitted into the air as coal is burned to produce electricity. The mercury may end up in our bodies or in the food chain in particular in the marine food chain.
These are just some of the impacts human beings willingly or involuntarily create in our natural environment. There's a lot more of the actual damage out there and it 's getting worse as the days go on.
NOT SO FUN FACTS:
NOT SO FUN FACTS:
1. The world has already lost 80 percent of its forest, and we are losing them continuously at a rate of 375 sq.km per day.
2. Between 1996 and 2016 nearly 286 and 127 tons of ice per year were lost on Greenland ice sheets and antarctic ice sheets.
3. Tropical forests around the world are shrinking at a rate of 30 football pitches per minute and in 2018 alone, we lost 1,20,000 sq.km of tropical forest. Carbon dioxide emissions from tropical forest destruction are the 3rd highest(11%) after America and China in the total emission.
4. According to WWF's Living planet report 2018, the size of populations of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians declined by 60 percent in just over 40 years.
5. Overall, annual economic losses from weather-related disasters are estimated at between $250 billion and $300 billion, as reported by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR).
So that's it guys, I'm going to conclude. Excuse me for the length of the post because it's the smallest big picture I could manage. I know this post is just like a bummer for all of you, but this is the harsh truth about our natural environment. It's important to change the way we view our ecosystems and stop looking at them as something to be used and thrown away. Because our environment needs our support and, more importantly, we need its services. While we can not change everything, we can still make small changes that would make a difference in protecting our assets, that is, our ecosystems and their biodiversity.
Thank you..!!!
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Thank you..!!!
Feel free to make a comment, if you like the post.
Don't hesitate to share with others, if you learn something from it and find it helpful.
Consider subscribing(at the top) so that when a new post is added you can receive email updates.
