Man has had many far-reaching effects on the environment over the years. Global warming, pollution and the damage to the ozone layer are a few of the major things that can be heard about in the news. Man has damaged the earth gradually over the years and this damage cannot be reversed, we are now trying to stop any more damage being caused to the environment. Not all of man's effects on the environment are harmful some are beneficial. Conservation work is going on across the country and this is helping to preserve the wildlife and countryside that we have left. The expanding human population has placed a huge demand on the food production of the country. The resources are limited but the population is increasing quite rapidly so the problems are growing. The demand for food means that crops need to be perfect so the use of fertilizers and herbicides is increasing too.

One of the problems in the countryside affecting the environment is the disposal of effluent and other pollutants. The main type of waste that we have to dispose of is organic effluent particularly from farms and sewage works. This is disposed of in several ways, the main one being pumping it into the sea and rivers around the country. In more recent years sewage recycling plants have been developed to reuse the water in the waste. Water treatment works are used to treat the waste before it is pumped into the river or sea.

There is a need to produce more food for the population and a need to preserve the wildlife and the environment. It is essential to satisfy the needs of the expanding population but it is also essential to preserve the environment. Living organisms are dependent on each other, if a tiny little fungus or algae plants were destroyed then the rest of the food chain would be affected. The algae or fungi are the producers so the primary consumers have nothing to eat so they die and the secondary consumers then have nothing to eat so they die. Drugs have been derived from plants. Genetic variation also decreases with the loss of species and new genes can never be discovered. The reduction of trees is leading to more carbon dioxide in the air and therefore increasing global warming.

Crop rotation is another way in which the land is being preserved a little more. Different crops are being grown in different places so that the same nutrients aren't being used from the same piece of soil every time and therefore the nutrients are being used in equal quantities. The nutrients in the soil have time to replenish themselves over the years. In addition, natural fertilisers are being used like farmyard manure instead of phosphates and nitrates. This means that the nutrients are released slowly as they decay and therefore improve the structure of the soil.


Man's effects on the environment are many but the effects are being slowed down and where possible reversed. The consequences of many years of abuse to the earth are being realised and people are trying to do something about it.. Crop rotation is also being increasingly used to hold soil in place between plantings. Global warming is being reduced as much as possible by the reduction of toxic emissions and wastewater is being recycled instead of pumped into rivers and seas. Man is trying to reverse and slow down the effects on the environment although some things cannot be reversed