Human impact on the environment
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| + | '''Human impact on the environment''' or '''anthropogenic impact on the environment''' includes impacts on [[environment (biophysical)|biophysical environments]], biodiversity and other resources. | ||
| - | '''Human extinction''' is the end of the [[human]] [[species]]. Various scenarios have been discussed in [[science]], [[popular culture]] and [[religion]] (see [[End time]]). The scope of this article is [[existential risk]]s. Humans are very widespread on the Earth, and live in [[community|communities]] which (whilst interconnected) are capable of some kind of basic survival in isolation. Therefore, [[pandemics|pandemic]] and deliberate killing aside, to achieve human extinction, the entire planet would have to be rendered uninhabitable, with no opportunity provided or possible for humans to establish a foothold beyond earth. This would typically be during a [[mass extinction]] event, a precedent of which exists in the [[Permian–Triassic extinction event]] among other examples. | + | ==See also== |
| + | * [[Anthropocene]] | ||
| + | * [[Attribution of recent climate change]] | ||
| + | * [[Biome]] | ||
| + | * [[Environmental issue]] | ||
| + | * [[Planetary boundaries]] | ||
| + | * [[Sustainability]] | ||
| - | In the near future, [[human impact on the environment|anthropogenic]] extinction scenarios exist: [[Mutual Assured Destruction|global nuclear annihilation]], [[overpopulation]] or [[Biological warfare | global accidental]] [[ pandemic]]; besides natural ones: [[bolide impact]] and large scale [[volcanism]] or other catastrophic [[climate change]]. These natural causes have occurred multiple times in the geologic past although the probability of reoccurence within the human timescale of the near future is infinitesimally small. As technology develops, there is a theoretical possibility that humans may be deliberately destroyed by the actions of a nation state, corporation or individual in a form of global [[suicide attack]]. There is also a theoretical possibility that technological advancement may resolve or prevent potential extinction scenarios. The emergence of a pandemic of such virulence and infectiousness that very few humans survive the disease is a credible scenario. While not actually a human extinction event, this may leave only very small, very scattered human populations that would then evolve in isolation. It is important to differentiate between human extinction and the extinction of all life on Earth. Of possible extinction events, only a pandemic is selective enough to eliminate humanity while leaving the rest of complex life on earth relatively unscathed. | ||
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| - | ==In popular culture== | ||
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| - | The book ''[[The World Without Us]]'' by [[Alan Weisman]] deals with a [[thought experiment]] on what would happen to the planet and especially human-made infrastructures if humans suddenly disappeared. The [[Discovery Channel]] documentary miniseries ''[[The Future Is Wild]]'' shows the possible future of [[evolution]] on Earth without humans. [[History (U.S. TV channel)|The History Channel]]'s special ''[[Life After People]]'' examines the possible future of life on Earth without humans, and was made into a series of [[Life After People: The Series|the same name]]. The [[National Geographic Channel]]'s special ''[[Aftermath: Population Zero]]'' envisions what the world be like if all humans suddenly disappeared. The British science-fiction drama ''[[Primeval]]'' also puts forward an alternative view of Earth after the extinction of humans: how other species of animals, such as rodents and insects will evolve to fill niches left by humans. | ||
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| - | ==See also== | ||
| - | *[[Doomsday event]] | ||
| - | *[[Extinction]] | ||
| - | *[[Extinction event]] | ||
| - | *[[Holocene extinction event]] | ||
| - | *[[Mutual assured destruction]] | ||
| - | *[[2012 phenomenon]] (Numerologically derived [[eschatology]], with arbitrary extinction mechanism.) | ||
| - | *[[Risks to civilization, humans and planet Earth]] | ||
| - | *[[Space and survival]] | ||
| - | *[[Voluntary Human Extinction Movement]] | ||
| - | *[[Toba catastrophe theory]] | ||
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Revision as of 20:50, 22 August 2012
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Human impact on the environment or anthropogenic impact on the environment includes impacts on biophysical environments, biodiversity and other resources.
See also
- Anthropocene
- Attribution of recent climate change
- Biome
- Environmental issue
- Planetary boundaries
- Sustainability
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Human impact on the environment" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
